Bound With Silver Threads
by Snakequeen-in-Norway
Summary: Lily Luna Potter years 3-7. Why is she stuck with a Little Malfoy tag-along? What do the coming years hold for them and everyone else? How will they change and grow, what will happen as they do, & who will end up with whom? Eventual femslash. Multiple pairings. Lily/OC. Stars Scorpius Malfoy's OC little sister too. Not T until Chap 29, really not until Chap 32 & nothing too major.
1. Chapter 1: Back to Hogwarts

**I am very happy to say that Cassiopeia Malfoy and my other OCs are my own personal creations. Most everything else belongs to JK Rowling :)**

**AN: This fic is going to cover Lily Luna Potter's years 3-7 at Hogwarts, so it's gonna be pretty long. My main reason for writing this is the terrible lack of HP femslash around here. Granted, the slash will come later, but it will be here, as will other relationships. The main character's 13 now though, so be patient.**

**Right now I'm going through to fix the section breaks that got deleted, and fixing typos and deleting outdated author's notes as I do it.**

**Chapter One: Back to Hogwarts**

"Bye Lily, bye Albus, bye James," said Ginny fondly as the Potter family gathered on Platform 9 ¾.

"We'll see you for the Christmas Holidays," said Harry, ruffling Lily's and Albus's hair.

Albus pulled a face.

"_Dad!_ I'm not a kid anymore."

"Have a good time, and _behave yourselves_," Ginny looked meaningfully at Albus. He gave her his most innocent look.

"Bye mom, bye dad," said Lily, giving each of her parents a kiss.

"Hey, there's Scorpius," said Albus. "Catch you later."

"Those two are as thick as thieves," said Lily's mother, laughing.

"And about as troublesome," said her father shaking his head.

"Because you _never_ caused any trouble when you were at school," said Ginny teasingly.

Lily scowled. In her opinion, Scorpius Malfoy was the biggest prat in the world. He was always leading her brother into trouble and treated her as if she were about five.

"You'd better get on the train," said Lily's father. "It's about to leave."

Lily waved to her parents one last time and then hurried toward the train. As she got on, her friends Marica and Dawn beckoned to her from the first compartment.

"Hey," she said, stowing her trunk overhead and then sitting down across from her friends.

"How was your summer?" said Dawn, blowing her long brown bangs out of her eyes.

"Oh, same old, same old," said Lily, shrugging. "How about you?"

"Mum took us to America," said Dawn, grinning. "We went to Disney World. I have pictures, see?" She pulled out a large stack of photographs. Most of them were of people wearing funny costumes, giant metal constructions, or Dawn and her little brother eating all manner of sugary sweets. Dawn's excitement was obvious even in the stationary Muggle photos.

"Looks like fun," said Lily. "I'm jealous."

"It was great!" Dawn gushed. "Have you ever had cotton candy? It's the best thing EVER."

Lily laughed. Dawn had the biggest sweet tooth in the third year.

"What about you, Marica?" said Lily.

"Mum's family visited," said Marica, rolling her eyes. "Mum made me wear long skirts and a headscarf the whole time."

Marica's mother's family was Muslim.

"How does this even _fit_ under a headscarf?" said Dawn, pulling at Marica's frizzy black curls.

Marica stuck her tongue out at Dawn. All three girls laughed.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up. Her cousin Hugo stood in the doorway.

"Hugo!"

When Lily and Hugo were little they had been inseparable, but ever since they had started school and Hugo was Sorted into Slytherin while Rose was Sorted into Gryffindor they had started to grow apart. Lily missed him.

"Lily, have you seen Al?" said Hugo.

Lily sighed. She should have known.

"No. He went off with Scorpius Malfoy before we got on the train."

Hugo looked disappointed.

"Why don't you come and sit down?" said Lily. "There's plenty of room."

Hugo looked over his shoulder, as though expecting Albus to appear in the corridor, but when he didn't Hugo said, "Sure."

Lily scooted over on the seat to make room for Hugo.

"So, are you looking forward to Hogsmeade?" said Marica, leaning back in her seat.

"Definitely!" said Lily and Hugo together.

Dawn squealed and bounced up and down on her seat. "Am I _ever_!" she exclaimed.

"What d'you think'll be the best part?" said Lily.

"Honeydukes!" said Dawn at once, smacking her lips.

"The Three Broomsticks," said Marica.

"Zonko's," said Hugo. "Al and Scorpius are always coming back with cool stuff from there. How about you, Lil?"

"I don't know," said Lily. "I'm looking forward to it all!"

*****BWST*****

When the Hogwarts Express pulled up at Hogsmeade Station several hours later, the four third years left their compartment and joined the throng heading toward the horseless carriages that would take them up to the castle.

"Look, there're Al and Scorpius!" said Hugo, pointing toward Lily's brother and his best friend. "See you later, Lil."

"Pathetic," muttered Lily, shaking her head in mild disgust as she, Dawn, and Marica climbed into a carriage.

A moment later they were joined by River Thurshall, a tall, muscular Ravenclaw fourth year.

"Hi, Lily," he said, sitting down beside her.

"Hi River," said Lily.

"How was your summer?"

Lily shrugged. "Fine. How about yours?"

"It was good," said River, "but I'm glad to be back at school. With all my friends."

"Yeah," said Lily. "Me too."

River looked Lily up and down. "You look taller," he said. "Did you grow over the summer?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "I think so."

"What new classes are you taking this year?" asked River after a moment.

"Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies," said Lily.

"Professor Cornan gives pretty tough work," said River. "If you ever need help with Arithmancy..."

"I think I'll be okay," said Lily. River's face fell slightly. "Thanks though."

"Any time," said River.

As the three girls walked up the stone steps and into the castle, Marica hit Lily on the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Lil, you can be _so_ oblivious sometimes!" said her friend.

"What are you talking about?" said Lily.

"River!" said Marica. "Couldn't you tell he was totally hitting on you?"

Lily laughed. "Yeah, right. What would River be hitting on me for? We're just friends."

"He wasn't looking at you like he wanted to be just friends," said Dawn teasingly.

"You're crazy," said Lily

"If it were me," said Marica, "I would _not_ be complaining. River got _hot _over the summer. Plus, he's a fourth year."

Lily just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's hurry up and get to the feast, I'm starving."

The three friends continued into the Great Hall and plopped themselves down a the Gryffindor table right as Professor Bloomfield, the Charms teacher and Deputy Headmaster, was bringing the Sorting Hat onto the stage.

"Hey," said Lily. "The first years must have gotten across the lake extra fast this year.

"Yeah, well, the weather's really good today," said Marica.

"Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining," said Dawn. "That means we'll get to eat sooner." She hunched over and swung her long arms like a caveman. "Dawn want food!"

Lily and Marica laughed. Marica swatted Dawn on the arm. "Moron," she said.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at her.

"Shhh!" said Lily. "The Sorting's starting!"

The Great Hall fell silent as the tear near the brim of the hat opened wide and the hat began to sing.

_I bet you all are wondering,_

_How it is a hat can speak,_

_But I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,_

_And that makes me unique._

_I'm not at all like other hats,_

_That you might go out and buy;_

_Stick around for just a bit,_

_And I will tell you why._

_Long, long ago, when this school began,_

_The founders, they decided_

_To each create a house with their_

_Most treasured students inside it_

_To do this job, once they were gone,_

_The founders they made me,_

_Just plop me down upon your head,_

_To see what I may see._

_Gryffindor is for the brave,_

_Courageous against danger;_

_And Hufflepuff is for the just,_

_Whose devotions never waver;_

_Those Ravenclaws are quick of wit,_

_And keen to pursue learning;_

_While those in Slytherin are sly,_

_And keep ambition burning._

_So I am here to tell you just_

_In which house you belong._

_And to introduce myself,_

_I have prepared this song._

_And now you know, what I am for,_

_And what I'm doing here._

_So step up front, and slip me on,_

_I'm a good hat, never fear!_

_And once I'm sitting on your head,_

_And take a nice good look,_

_I shout the house that's best for you,_

_And say: See? That's all it took!_

"Oooh," said Dawn. "I liked that one. I think it was the best yet!"

"Dawn, you said that last year," said Marica, laughing.

"Yeah, but this one was ever better!" said Dawn.

"Hush!" said Lily.

Professor Bloomfield stood up and said to the first years, "When I call your name you will come here, put the Sorting Hat on your head, and sit down on the stool. When the hat calls out its decision you will join your new house's table. Abbot, Jeremy!"

The small, nervous boy approached the stool and sat down gingerly, lowering the hat onto his head. The hat paused for a second and then called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Lily watched with mild interest as the rest of the first years were sorted into houses. She didn't know any of this year's new students, so she was only half paying attention when Professor Bloomfield called out, "Malfoy, Cassiopeia."

Lily looked up. "Malfoy?"

"Yeah," said Marica. "Scorpius's little sister."

"Malfoy has a sister?"

Marica raised her eyebrows. "You didn't know that? Malfoy and your brother are best mates."

"Yeah well, I try to have as little to do with Malfoy as possible," said Lily, wrinkling her nose.

Lily turned her attention back to the Sorting. The Malfoy girl was just sitting down on the stool. She was small, possibly the smallest first year there, and the hat completely hid her thin face. Lily expected the hat to call out "SLYTHERIN!" as soon as it touched her head, but instead the hat was silent.

The girl fidgeted. The hat was taking a long time to decide, longer than Lily had ever seen it take before. Finally, after over a minute, the tear near the brim opened and the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"What?" said Lily. She wasn't the only one; all around the Great Hall people were exchanging shocked glances. The Malfoy family had been in Slytherin for as long as anyone could remember. It would have been one thing for the girl to be sorted into Ravenclaw, though even that would have been surprising, but Gryffindor?

The small girl got up off the chair, took off the hat, and walked quickly over the Gryffindor table and sat down.

"How did a Malfoy end up in Gryffindor?" said Dawn, oggling at the newly arrived blond.

"I dunno," said Lily, shrugging. "But I'm betting her brother won't be too pleased."

*****BWST*****

After the feast ended and the Headmaster had made all the announcements, Lily, Marica, and Dawn, feeling full and more than a little sleepy, got to their feet and headed into the entrance hall. As Lily was about to start up the marble staircase she heard Albus's voice call her name.

"Hey! Lil! Wait up!"

Lily turned around and saw Albus and Scorpius coming toward her. The crowd parted before them like the red sea.

"Yeah?" said Lily to Albus, pointedly ignoring Scorpius. "What is it?"

"This is my little sister Cassiopeia," said Scorpius, tugging forward the small girl, whom Lily hadn't noticed was standing behind him. "She was Sorted into your house. Into Gryffindor."

"I know what my house is thanks, Malfoy," said Lily coldly. "And I saw her being Sorted."

"Say hi, Lily," Albus prompted.

Lily narrowed her eyes. She hated the way Scorpius talked to her; as though she were about five years old. And she hated even more the way that Albus started treating her like a kid too whenever he was with Scorpius.

"Hi," said Lily shortly.

"Cassiopeia doesn't know anyone in Gryffindor yet," continued Scorpius.

"So we thought that you could look after her," said Albus.

"You know, be her friend, show her around," added Scorpius.

"No way," said Lily. "I'm not going to babysit your little sister, Malfoy."

"Aw, come on, Lil," said Albus. "It's just until she gets used to being at Hogwarts."

_"No,"_ said Lily.

"Don't be such a sourpuss, Lily," said Albus in annoyance. "She's Scorp's sister," he added in a calmer voice. "You know I'd want somone to do the same for you if your were sorted into a strange house."

Lily huffed. "Alright _fine_. I'll show her around for a couple of days. But's that's _it_ okay?"

"Thanks, Lil," said Albus.

"Yeah, thanks kid," said Scorpius, ruffling her hair.

She glared at him. "Sod off, Malfoy, I not doing this for you. Come on," she added to the little girl.

Cassiopeia Malfoy just stood there, staring at the floor.

"Let's go," said Lily. "Gryffindor Tower is this way."

When the girl still didn't move or look up, Lily took her hand and, rolling her eyes, led her up the marble staircase.

"Pay attention to where we're going," she told the younger girl. "I'm not going to be your permanent castle guide."

*****BWST*****

"This is the Fat Lady," said Lily crossly when they finally reached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. She had practically had to tow the girl along; she would swear she was dragging her feet on purpose. "You have to tell her the password. What is it again? Rose told me at dinner—oh yes, Beatlenut!"

The portait swung forward and Lily pushed the smaller girl into the Common Room.

"Here we are, Gryffindor Common Room." She swept her arms around the room expansively. "Home sweet home. The girls dorms are up here. Come on."

Lily led Cassiopeia to girls' staircase. When they reached the first landing, Lily pointed to the door on the left. "There you are. First year dorms." Then she turend on her heal and continued to the third year dorms.

Marica, Dawn, and their fellow Gryffindor third years Tamzen Guthrie, Brandi Formans, and Paloma Cartrez looked up when Lily came through the door.

"Where've you been?" said Dawn, rolling a lolipop around in her mouth. "We thought you'd been abducted by aliens or something."

"Not unless you think Albus and Malfoy are aliens, which isn't out of the realm of possiblity," said Lily, flopping down on her bed and pulling off her shoes.

"What did they want?" said Tamzen, glancing up from the latest issue of the _Quibbler_.

Lily huffed in annoyance. "They've somehow conscripted me to play nanny to Malfoy's little sister. They think she needs someone to 'show her around' and 'be her friend'. I'll tell you what, I may have concented to show her around for a couple days. But I am _not_ going to be her friend. The kid's eleven and about half my size. And she didn't say two words to me all the way up here. In fact, I don't think she even siad one word."

"Aw, come on," said Brandi, rolling over to look at Lily. "Why don't you give her a chance?"

"I'm _giving_ her a chance," said Lily. "I agreed to help her settle in, didn't I? I assure you, I'm not doing it for Scorpius Malfoy."

"I wouldn't mind doing something for Scorpius Malfoy," said Tamzen slyly.

Lily shuddered.

"Let's go to sleep," said Paloma from the corner. "I'm half asleep already."

"Me too," said Marica, yawning.

Lily pulled her nightgown over her head and slid under the covers. Marica flicked her wand to douse the lights.

"'Night girls," called Dawn sleepily, as she she had every night at Hogwarts since their first year.

"'Night," the other five chorused. And, exhausted from the excitement of being back at Hogwarts, they were all soon asleep.

**AN: I know, the chapter title is lame. They get better, mostly.**

**Also, don't get me wrong, I love Al and Scorpius, but for this fic they had to be a bit obnoxious.**

**I enjoy reviews, even on older chapters like this one, but if you don't review I won't hunt you down :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Shadowed

**Author's Note: Longer chapter! All chapters are going to be 2000+ words, most are 3000+.**

**This fic was more of an intentional idea rather than something that just came to me and demanded to be written down, so it has proved harder to write since it doesn't come as easily to me.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: My lovely OCs and my plot belong to me. Nothing else does. :)**

**Chapter Two: Shadowed**

Cassiopeia stood on the platform in front of the staff table, looking out over the sea of students. She had never seen so many people in once place before, and they were all looking at _her_. Shaking, she forced her legs to carry her to the three-legged stool and sat down on it, placing the over-sized hat on her head. The hat, which was several sized too big for her, fell over her face so that she could no longer see the roomful of people watching her.

"Hmmm," said a voice in her ear. She kept herself from jumping only with great difficulty." Another Malfoy I see. Yes. But maybe a little different from your brother, eh? Well, well, let's see now... I see intelligence, oh yes, and loyalty, that too... Determination, yes, you have that as well...and wit and cunning too... But what is hidden in that quiet little mind of yours? Let me think, let me think...

The Hat was silent for what felt like an eternity, occasionally making little humming or ahing sounds to itself that Cassiopeia found most infuriating. It hadn't taken nearly this long to decide with any of the other first years. Just when she was gathering her nerve to ask the Hat whether or not it had forgotten that she was there, she felt it gather itself as though it had taken a large breath; though, of course, hats couldn't breathe.

"Well then," said the voice in her head. "You are most interesting, but I think I know where I should put you. GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted to the entire Hall.

Cassiopeia gaped at the inside of the hat. Surely there had been some sort of mistake. The Hat couldn't possibly have put her in _Gryffindor_. No one in her family had ever been in Gryffindor. The very idea was absurd. Besides, Gryffindor was for the _brave_. Cassiopeia may have been many things, as the Hat had suggested, but brave wasn't one of them. She took the hat off of her head and glanced toward her brother at the Slytherin table. What was Scorpius going to think of her being in _Gryffindor_?

Scorpius had a very shocked expression on his face, but when he saw Cassiopeia looking at him his expression softened and he gave her a "what-can-you-do?" shrug and jerked his head toward the Gryffindor table. Cassiopeia got down off of the stool, set the Hat on it, and then walked quickly over to to join the rest of the Gryffindors.

*****BWST*****

At the end of the feast Scorpius came up to Cassiopeia, followed as ever by his best friend, Albus Potter.

"_That_ was a surprise," he remarked, looking down at the top of her pale head.

Cassiopeia tilted her face to look up at him. "You're telling me," she said dryly. And then, "You're not mad are you?"

"Nah," said Scorpius. "Shocked, but it's not like you _asked_ the Hat to put you in Gryffindor. You didn't did you?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "Why in Merlin's name would I do _that_?" she asked her brother.

"Ah, well," said Albus. "Gryffindor's not _so_ bad, if you're into that kind of thing." He smirked.

"Says the Slytherin from a family of Gryffindors," scoffed Scorpius.

Albus shrugged.

"Hey," said Scorpius. "I just had a brilliant idea!"

"Really?" said Albus. "What about?"

"Your sister!"

"My sister?" said Albus skeptically.

"Yeah! She's in Gryffindor, she's a kid, she's kind of quiet and doesn't have many friends. She and Cassie can be friends!"

"Er—Scorp, I'm not sure that's gonna fly with Lily," said Albus.

"Aw, of course it will. Come on, let's ask her!"

Cassiopeia raised her pale eyebrows at her brother. "Going to explain this to me are you?" she asked. Scorpius was one of the few people she felt comfortable really talking to.

"Al has a little sister about your age who's in Gryffindor. We'll introduce you to her and you can be friends."

"Scorp," Cassiopeia pointed out. "I don't _have_ any friends.

Scorpius paused. "Well—er—just stick by Lily no matter what. That's what friends do. Come on, let's catch her before she heads upstairs.

The two boys and Cassiopeia took off toward the exit, the sea of students parting before them. This didn't really surprise Cassiopeia, her brother had always seemed kind of like a demi-god to her, so she took it for granted that everyone else saw him the same way. As they neared the doors, Albus took the lead and approached a trio of girls. The one on the left was medium height with dark skin and kinky black hair. The one on the right was taller and had brown hair cut into bangs. The middle one, the shortest of the three, had dark red hair and pale skin.

"Hey! Lil! Wait up!" called Albus. The red haired girl turned around.

"Yeah?" she said.

"This is my little sister Cassiopeia," said Scorpius, pushing Cassiopeia forward.

Cassiopeia stared up at the red-headed girl. Scorpius had said that she was Cassiopeia's own age, but Cassiopeia guessed that the girl was probably in her third year.

"She was Sorted into your house. Into Gryffindor," Scorpius continued.

"I know what my house is, thanks, Malfoy," retorted the girl, presumably Albus's sister.

Cassiopeia supressed a giggle.

"And I saw her being Sorted," added the female Potter.

That sobered Cassiopeia up. Being Sorted, how mortifying; sitting up there forever with that hat on her head.

"Say hi, Lily," said Albus

So, her name is Lily, Cassiopeia noted.

"Hi," said Lily shortly. She didn't look happy.

The rest of the conversation bolstered this assumption. At first, Lily refused point blank to have anything to do with Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia thought it might have helped if Scorpius and Albus hadn't presented it quite like Lily was supposed to be Cassiopeia's caretaker, but when she tugged on Scorpius's sleeve to tell him this he shook his head at her and muttered, "Not now, Cassie."

Finally, the Lily girl relented and took Cassiopeia by the hand, leading her up the marble staircase.

Cassiopeia found it very hard to focus on what her new friend was saying as her wide wide eyes took in everything around her. Hogwarts was _amazing_. Several times Cassiopeia opened her mouth and almost said something to her new friend, but the older girl seemed so imposing that Cassiopeia never seemed to be able to get the words out. That was how it usually was when there were a lot of people around or when she was with people she didn't know. There were plenty of things going on _inside _her head, but very few of them ever made it out of her mouth.

As the two Gryffindors walked up to the seventh floor together, Cassiopeia decided that she liked the red-headed girl, but she wasn't at all sure that the feeling was reciprocated.

When the girls finally reached Gryffindor tower several minutes later, Lily led Cassiopeia up to the dormitories and pointed out the first years' door.

"There you are. First year dorms," she said pointing.

Cassiopeia looked at the tall door in front of her. Then she turned back around to the other girl.

"Thanks," Cassiopeia whispered.

But Lily was already halfway up the next staircase.

*****BWST*****

The next morning Lily skipped down the stairs and out of the common room and nearly crashed into Albus.

"Oof!" she said, stumbing back. "What are you _doing_? Trying to sneak into Gryffindor Tower again?"

"No," said Albus, pretending to be offended but ruffling his hair and making eyes at a fourth year Gryffindor girl over Lily's shoulder. "Is it a crime to stand here?"

"It's a good way to get knocked over," said Lily, annoyed.

"Only if certain girls don't look where they're going."

Lily huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Where's Cassiopeia?" said Albus, looking up over Lily's shoulder at the Fat Lady.

"Why should I know?" said Lily. "I just got up."

"You're supposed to be looking after her," Albus chided.

"I'm not her mother," said Lily peevishly. "I agreed to keep an eye on her, not to watch her every second of the day. I'll see her when she comes down."

"Wait for her before you go down to the Great Hall," said Albus over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Oh? And just where are _you_ going?"

"To breakfast," he said airly.

Lily stuck her tongue out at her brother's retreating back. This was so unfair! Why didn't Albus look after the girl if he was so concerned about her? Lily didn't have an upper year nanny when she was a first year and she got on fine. Lily had a good mind to just got down to breakfast and bugger Cassiopeia Malfoy, but just then the small first year came out of the portrait hole.

"There you are," said Lily impatiently. "Hurry up or we'll be late for breakfast."

Cassiopeia followed Lily meekly down to the Great Hall. When Lily took the seat next to Marica, the blond sat down on her other side.

"You've got yourself a pale little shadow," commented Marica, laughing.

"Shut up," said Lily.

"Aw, come on Lil," said Dawn. "I think she's kind of cute."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Then why don't you take care of her?"

"Me?" said Dawn. "I can't even keep a goldfish alive!"

"That's because you forgot to feed it, Dawn," said Marica patiently. "I'm pretty sure little Malfoy knows how to feed herself."

"Yeah," said Dawn through a mouthfull of porridge and honey, "but I'd probably lose her. I lose everything."

"If you'd think about organizing—" started Marica exhasperately.

"Organize?" said Dawn in mock confusion. "What's that?"

Marica just rolled her eyes. "Hopeless," she muttered.

Lily giggled.

The food magically cleared from the plates and the students began pushing back from their tables. Lily started after her friends.

"Hey, earth to Lily," said Marica, pointing behind Lily's back. "Don't you have a first year to help?"

"Oh bother," said Lily, turning around and going back to Cassiopeia. "Alright, Little Malfoy, tell me what class you have first. You can talk, can't you?" she added.

The girl looked at the class schedule clutched tightly in her hand.

"Transfiguration," she said softly.

"Alright, well, as I'm going to Charms I'll show you where your classroom is," said Lily. "Follow me."

Lily led Cassiopeia to the Transfiguration classroom and pointed to the crowd of first year Gryffindors moving through the doorway.

"There you are. Transfiguration. Off you go."

Checking her watch, Lily saw that she only had two minutes before class started. Sprinting the rest of the way, she just managed to make it to Charms before the bell rang signalling the beginning of class.

"I hope she learns her way around quickly," muttered Lily to Dawn and Marica as she pulled out her textbook, "because this is going to get really old really fast."

*****BWST*****

When Lily left the Charms classroom, it was to find little Cassiopeia Malfoy waiting for her outside the door. "You?" said said. "What are you doing here? You don't have Charms next."

The eleven-year-old shook her head.

"I can't take you to every class you know," said Lily. "I have my own classes to go to."

The girl blinked up at her.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Okay, what class _do_ you have next?"

"Herbology."

"That's outside. In the greenhouses. Why don't you follow your classmates. They're all going there, same as you." She gave Cassiopeia a little push toward the rest of the first year Gryffindors.

"And don't come find me afterwards!" she told the little girl forcefully. "Just follow the rest of your classmates!"

Scowling and muttering, Lily made her way down into the dungeons for Potions, wishing she had never agreed to Albus's ridiculous request.

*****BWST*****

Thankfully, Lily didn't see the small first year Malfoy again until lunch. Unfortunately, the girl again took her seat right next to Lily. She didn't say anything, and Lily did her best to ignore her other than to tell her where her next class was at the end of the meal.

"You know," said Marica as she, Lily, and Dawn walked across the grounds to Care of Magical Creatures. "You could try being nicer to her. After all, it's not her fault she's got Malfoy for a brother. You could at least talk to her."

"About what?" countered Lily. "The mite never opens her mouth."

"Maybe she's just shy."

Lily snorted. "Shy? Marica, she's a _Malfoy_ . She probably just thinks she's too good for the likes of us."

*****BWST*****

A week later, Lily was sitting in the library doing homework with Marica and Dawn when she felt someone beside her. Looking around she saw that Cassiopeia Malfoy was standing beside her chair. The girl was so small that standing up she was barely taller than Lily was seated.

"What do you want?" said Lily in annoyance. "Can't you see I'm working?" The girl had been following her around all week and it was _really_ starting to get on her nerves.

The girl rocked back and forth on her heels, staring at the floor.

"Don't you have any friends yet?" said Lily in exhasperation.

Cassiopeia shook her head.

"Then go make some!" said Lily flapping her hands at the younger girl. "Go on, get!"

The blond girl walked away, but instead of going and finding someone else, she sat down at a vacant table and pulled out her schoolwork.

"Wow," said Marica, looking up from her homework. "Harsh much."

"She needs to stop following me like a lost puppy," said Lily angrily. "What does Albus think I do all day that I have time to cater to Malfoy's sister all the time? I may not be _polpular_ like he is, but I do have a life!"

Dawn scrunched up yet another failed attempt at the essay she was writing. "I'm with Lily on this one," she said. "The girl's adorable, but she has _no_ personality. How in Merlin's name is Lily supposed to make friends with her? Besides, she's _eleven_."

"Thank you, Dawn," said Lily, flipping through her History of Magic textbook. "Now go tell that to my brother!"

An hour later when the three third years finally packed up their books and homework and left the library, Cassiopeia Malfoy got up too and followed, her pale skin and hair making her look like a miniature ghost.

Once they were through the portrait hole Lily turned around and glared at her.

"Come on, girls," she said, pointedly turning her back on the first year. "Let's go sit in those _three_ chairs over there."

Lily stalked off, followed by Dawn and Marica. Cassiopeia watched them walk away with round blue eyes.

*****BWST*****

"Lily?"

There was a sharp tap on her shoulder

"Ow."

Lily looked up. Albus was frowning down at her from the other side of the library table

"Do you mind?" she said. "I'm trying to read."

"I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Cassiopeia."

Lily groaned. "Her again? I'm sick of Cassiopeia. She does't speak, she doesn't interact. She doesn't do anything. All she does is follow me like a second shadow. It's annoying. _She's_ annoying."

"You're supposed to be her friend."

"Correction. I was supposed to help her adjust to Hogwarts. It's been nearly a month. Plenty of time to adjust. Mission accomplished. Goodbye."

She turned back to her book.

_"Lily."_

"What?" she snapped.

"You're backing out on your word. That's not cool."

"I don't care what's _cool_, Al," said Lily.

"I haven't seen her with any friends."

Lily made a rude noise. "Like you even pay attention to what the first years are doing. And if she doesn't want a social life that's not my problem. Being the most popular student in your year is not a requirement, Al."

"Scorpius wants—"

"Then make Scorpius do it," said Lily, slamming her book shut. "I'm going to bed."

*****BWST*****

When Lily went down to breakfast on the morning before Halloween, the entire Great Hall was filled with multicolored bubbles.

"What the hell?"

A first year ran past Lily and, squealing, jumped up to pop one of the bubbles. But instead of popping, the bubble stuck to her hand.

Looking around, Lily saw that everywhere bubbles were sticking to students, to their hair and their robes and their hands and even their plates. People were desperately trying to get them off, but the harder they tried the more the bubbles stuck. A few first years were litterally covered from head to toe in sticky bubbles.

A Ravenclaw fifth year tried to hex the bubbles away, but when they exploded they issued a sticky, foul smelling goo with covered the fifth year's hair and robes, making him yell in disgust.

Now all over the Hall more bubbles were beginning to pop, covering everything, including all the food, in foul smelling sludge.

Lily heard hysterical laughter behind her and turned around.

Albus and Scorpius were leaning against the wall of the entrance hall, howling with laugher. Lily glared at them.

"Oh for Merlin's _sake_!" she said. "Of all the stupid things to do!" She made a rude gesture at Malfoy. She had no doubt that the tasteless prank had been his idea.

"Hey!" said Malfoy. "Don't do that in front of my sister!"

Lily turned around; sure enough, Cassiopeia Malfoy was standing behind her.

"Well, if your sister didn't follow me everywhere then I wouldn't be doing it in front of her, now would I?" said Lily in disgust.

"Are you insulting my sister?" said Scorpius, raising his fists threateningly.

"What's going on here?" said a mild but stern voice. Professor Bloomfield was walking toward them.

Scorpius opened his mouth but Lily said. "Nothing sir, but something is certainly going on in _there_." She jerked her head toward the Great Hall.

Professor Bloomfield walked over the the Great Hall and looked inside.

"What in Merlin's name—?" He turned toward the two Slytherin boys. "Malfoy, Potter. Come with me."

Lily smirked. Scorpius Malfoy glared at her and made a dirty hand sign behind Professor Bloomfield's back.

"Now who's doing that in front of your sister?" she said. "Hypocrite."

A minute later, Professor Bloomfield, obviously having handed the two miscreants off the the headmaster or their head of house, came hurrying back. He stepped into the Great Hall and began to charm away all of the bubbles and sludge. It took several minutes, and even after the Great Hall was clean again, many students needed to go back to their dorms and change, and no one could eat their breakfast. Intsead, they were all quickly prepared toast and jam and sent off to classes while the teachers finished putting the Great Hall to rights.

Lily was furious to hear several students discussing how brilliant the prank had been. Didn't they _care_ that their breakfast and clothes had been ruined? Obviously not.

All in all, Lily was in a rotten mood all day, a mood which was not helped by the continuing presence of Cassiopeia Malfoy. When Lily gave her a direct order to _"Go away,"_ she always went, but she would innevitably be back later, standing in the background like a silent spectre. It was actually kind of creepy.

Lily's mood only improved when Dawn and Marica reminded her that the first Hogsmeade visit was the next day.

"Yes!" she said. "Finally! Little Malfoy _can't_ follow me there. She's only a first year." And, grinning contendedly, Lily climbed the stairs up to her dormitory, determindly ignoring the small, round, blue eyes watching her ascent.

*****BWST*****

Halloween morning dawned crisp and clear, a perfect day for going into Hogsmead. All of the third years were up early, excitedly talking about their plans once they got to the village. Lily was so excited that she didn't even mind Cassiopeia dogging her down to the Great Hall. In less than an hour she would be rid of her.

Everyone in third year and above lined up in the entrance hall after breakfast as the caretaker checked them off his list. Soon Lily, Marica, and Dawn were standing on the street of Hosmeade, looking around them in awe.

"Where should we go first?" said Lily.

"Honeydukes!" squealed Dawn.

"The Three Broomsticks!" said Marica.

"Let's go to Honeydukes first," said Lily. "Then we can go to Zonkos and then to the Three Broomsticks."

The other two agreed and they set off happily down the sidewalk.

After loading up on as may sweets as they could carry, the girls left Honeydukes and went into Zonkos Joke Shop. Lily wasn't really interested in all the joke items, but she couldn't very well come to Hogsmeade without at least seeing joke shop.

As they entered the store, Lily spotted Hugo across the room, looking at a shelf full of trick wands. Albus and Scorpius were a few shelves over, examining what looked suspiciously like trick candies.

Ignoring her brother and his friend, Lily waved to her cousin. "Hey, Hugo!"

Hugo turned around and grinned. "Lily! I haven't talked to you in forever!" He hurried over to the three Gryffindors. "How are you?"

"Oh, pretty good," said Lily. "How about you?"

Hugo shrugged. "Same." His face broke into another grin. "I think Al and Scorpius might let me help with their next prank..." he trailed off when he saw the look on Lily's face. "Er—yeah, anyways...isn't Hogsmead terrific? Have you been to the Three Broomsticks yet?"

"No," said Lily. "That's where we're headed next. Is it good?"

"Uh huh," said Hugo enthusiastically. "You should check out the post office too. Pity the Shrieking Shack's not still haunted."

"It never _was_ haunted, Hugo," said Lily. "That was Teddy's dad. You know that."

"It's still a really cool historical landmark though," said Marica. "One of the key places in the Second Wizarding War."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She got a little bit sick of hearing about the War; people always seemed to bring it up with her and her family.

Sensing her annoyance, Hugo said, "so, how's Scorpius's sister? You and her are friends, right?"

_"No,"_ Lily huffed angrily. "We are _not_ friends. She is a pest is what she is. Come on, let's go to the Three Broomsticks."

But just then Albus and Scorpius came walking over.

"What's up lil' sis?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" said Albus, eyes widening exaggerately. "You're in _Hogsmeade_!" He opened his arms expansively.

"We're on our way to the Three Broomsticks," said Lily.

"Oh, well, have fun then," said Albus, ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, have fun kid," said Scorpius patting her head condescendingly.

Lily glared at their retreating backs. "Prats," she said.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," Marica suggested.

"Coming Hugo?" said Lily as the girls started toward the door.

He tore his gaze away from the retreating fifth years. "Yeah, why not?" he said.

The four of them walked down the street to the crowded pub. Stepping inside, they were hit with a wave of warm, scented air.

"Mmmm!" said Dawn. "Let's get something!"

"You've already eated two bags of candy!" protested Marica.

"So?" said Dawn.

The four of them ordered butterbeers and then found an empty table in the corner and sat down. A young barmaid came over to bring their drinks. Hugo oggled at her and Lily hit him in the back of the head. She had to admit though, the young woman _was_ pretty.

"May I sit here?" said a voice.

Lily looked up and saw River Thurshal standing over her.

"Oh, sure," she said.

River pulled up a seat next to her.

"How have you been? Do you like your new classes?"

"Yeah, they're pretty great," said Lily. "You were right, Arithmancy is hard. I like it though."

River smiled at her. "That's good."

Lily smiled back at him. She and River had been friends since her first year. He was her cousin Dominique's friend's little brother. They didn't see too much of each other, being in different houses and not having too many common interests, but he had been one of her first new friends at Hogwarts.

Hugo was in the middle of telling Lily about something that had happened in Divination the other day when River tapped her on the arm.

"You look nice today."

"Huh?" said Lily, confused. She looked like she always did; she didn't generally pay too much attention to her appearance. "Uh...thanks?"

She turned back to Hugo. "What were you saying, Hugo?"

*****BWST*****

"Lily!" said Dawn hopelessly as the three girls ascended the stairs back into the castle that evening after spending hte rest of the day with Hugo and River.

"What?"

"Why didn't you pay more attention to River?"

"I did!" said Lily. "I paid him as much attention as I did the rest of you."

Dawn gave an exaggerated sigh. "That's the problem!"

"What's the problem?" asked Lily, confused.

"Lily, it's so completely obvious that River likes you. He was hitting on you all day!"

"He was not!"

"He was _too_," said Dawn.

"Why do you think he spent the entire day with us?" said Marica.

"I dunno," said Lily shrugging. "We're friends."

"He's a fourth year," said Marica. "The only reason a fourth year guy would spend all day with three third year girls is if he likes one of them."

"That's ridiculous," said Lily.

"Don't you _want _him?" said Dawn.

"Er—" said Lily. _Did_ she want him? She had never though about him like that. She had never thought about any guy like that. She knew Dawn and Marica had both had crushes on guys before, but she had never seen what the big deal was.

"Er—not really," said Lily. "Not like that. I never thought about it."

"Are you serious?" said Marica. "That guy is hot!"

"Whatever," said Lily as the entered the Great Hall. "Wow, they really outdid themselves this year."

It was true, the entire hall was completely decked out in black and orange. There were hundreds of live bats and ravens flying above their heads, spider webs hung from the walls, and four huge jack-o-lanterns sat in the corners.

"Yeah," said Marica, doing a revolution on the spot. "Look, you even got your own personal ghost."

She and Dawn giggled and Lily spun around. Little Cassiopeia Malfoy was standing behind her, her pale hair and skin gleaming in the dim light.

Lily growled in annoyance. "It's not _funny_!"

"Well..." said Dawn.

"It _is_ annoying," said Marica. "But you have to admit she's perfect for Halloween."

Grumbling, Lily led the way to the Gryffindor table, followed by Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia.

**AN: The first part was kind of a sneak peak into Cassiopeia's mind, going back through the events of the last that was to give a bit of a background on Cassiopeia so you know what she's about. It also helped me shape some of the later stuff, knowing how she thinks. I hope it helps you guys understand what's going on better. There are bits and pieces of her POV interspersed in later chapters, but in general it's a Lily POV story.**

**Think about reviewing, reviews make me smile. But so do lots of other things; I won't cry if you don't review. And please don't give burn reveiws. They don't make me smile. If you don't like it, that's fine, don't waste your time **_**reviewing**_** it, that's silly. Thanks for reading.**

**-SQ (as in Snake Queen, an abreviation for the abreviated version of my pen name if you will)**


	3. Chapter 3: Confounding

**Author's Note: In case you're reareading this or something, I did make a few very minor changes. What Cassiopeia says is her favorite class (to fit more with later chapters) or rewording, things like that. Nothing that changed the plot at all or makes it rereading necessary to get the content.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry to burst your bubble.**

**Chapter Three: Confounding**

By mid-November, even Dawn and Marica were thoroughly fed up with Cassiopeia Malfoy.

_"Why,"_ said Marica as they left for breakfast one morning, followed as always by the silent little girl, "does she insist on following you everywhere you go?"

"I don't know!" said Lily in frustration. "It's not like I encourage her. I hardly talk to her. I've told her to leave me alone, but she's too either too stuck up or too painfully shy or just too _dull _to make any friends. I can't _believe_ she's related to strut-in-your-face Scorpius Malfoy."

"You should talk to her," said Dawn.

"It's like talking to a wall," said Lily. Although that wasn't strictly true, conceded Lily. The girl definitely _heard _her, and Lily _thought _she understood her. But she only answered back when asked a direct question.

"You should talk to Scorpius," said Marica.

"No way," said Lily.

"Then talk to Al," said Dawn.

"I've tried that," said Lily. "He doesn't listen."

Nevertheless, after dinner she approached her youngest brother as he was leaving he Great Hall.

"Al, can I talk to you?"

"Uh, if it's quick. What about?"

"Cassiopeia Malfoy. She's driving me crazy! It's been two and a half months. Tell Scorpius to tell her to bug off!"

"Maybe if you'd be nice to her you wouldn't find her such a nuisance. You're just being stubborn."

_"Me?"_ said Lily. "Ha. You're one to talk. At least I don't strut around as if I owned the school. News flash, you and Scorpius are not princes."

Scorpius, who had come up behind Albus, flashed her a grin. "Those girls over there would beg to differ with you, sweetheart," he said, running his fingers through his silky hair.

"Argh!" said Lily furiously. "Thanks for nothing, big brother!" And she stormed away, determined to find James. Maybe he would actually listen to her.

Lily found James sitting in the Gryffindor common room, doing work and chatting with a bunch of his friends, including most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, of which he was the captain.

"Uh, hey James?" said Lily. She always felt a little shy when approaching him and all of his upper year friends.

"Hey, Lils," he said, smiling at her. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," her oldest brother got up from his chair and followed her to a less crowded corner of the room.

"Something wrong, Lily?"

Lily jerked her head toward Cassiopeia Malfoy, who was hovering a few feet away.

"You're a Gryffindor Prefect, can't you get her to leave me alone? She follows me everywhere like some sort of shadow. I agreed to help her settle into Hogwarts at the beginning of the year and now I can't get rid of her!"

James looked the tiny girl over.

"What does she do to you?"

"That's just it," said Lily, "nothing! She just stands there. Sometimes I _think_ she's going to say something to me, but when I look at her she just ends up opening and shutting her mouth like a fish. I think she might be simple."

"Well..." he said slowly, "maybe if she had some friends her own age..."

"She never talks to anyone," said Lily.

"Maybe you could introduce her to some of the first years," said James. "Try being nice to her and easing her away from you, since ignoring her obviously isn't working."

"But she's such a—a _kid_," said Lily.

"Come on, Lily, I know you can be patient if you _really_ try," said James, grinning.

"I have been patient," Lily protested. "For the last two and a half months I have been patient."

"Introduce her to some other first years," James advised. "It's been good talking to you, Lily, but I've really got to get back to my work and my team. Feel free to find me if you have any more problems though." He gave her a brotherly smile and a one-armed half hug.

"Thanks James," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

"Little Malfoy?" said Lily without looking up from her homework, knowing that the girl would be there.

Cassiopeia took a couple steps toward Lily. Lily finished the last sentece of her essay and then looked up.

"Alright, come with me," she said to the little girl. "I'm gonna introduce you to some other kids, okay?"

Inwardly Cassiopeia rolled her eyes at the baby talk. _Maybe I should have been in Ravenclaw_, she thought. _Then they'd assume I'm smart without me ever having to open my mouth_.

Nodding, Cassiopeia followed Lily as she walked over to a group of first years were were trading chocolate frog cards.

"Can Lit—er—Cassiopeia join you?" asked Lily.

"Uh, yeah, sure," said a chubby boy, looking up from his cards. "Has she got any cards?"

"Do you have any cards?" Lily asked after a moment when Cassiopeia didn't answer.

"Yes," said Cassiopeia softly. "Upstairs."

"Why don't you go get them and then come down and play with..."

"Hector," said the chubby boy.

"Okay," said Cassiopeia.

"There," said Lily, releaved, and she went back to the table she had been sitting at.

Cassiopeia came down a minute later with her chocolate frog cards and laid them out on the floor in front of the other first years. As the rest of the group traded cards, she would nod or shake her head when they offered her a trade, occasionally suggesting a different offer. As usual, her head came up with many additions to their animated conversation, but none of them were actually verbalized. Eventually the rest of the first years got tired of trading frog cards and got up to leave the common room. Cassiopeia stayed where she was, sitting on the floor with her chocolate frog cards, watching Lily Potter do her homework and talk to Marica Prewet and Dawn Hartly.

*****BWST*****

A good while later, Lily looked up.

"Where did your friends go?" she asked Cassiopeia.

They're not my _friends,_ though Cassiopeia. _I barely know them._ She shrugged.

"Well why didn't you go with them?"

Cassiopeia shrugged again. "They didn't ask me to."

Lily sighed in exasperation. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"Finished it."

Lily huffed and turned back to her friends, shaking her head in despair.

*****BWST*****

"Hey, Lily, guess who?"

Lily pulled the hands away from her eyes and turned around.

"Rose!"

Rose came around to the front of the couch and sat down beside Lily.

"So, how's my favorite little girl cousin?" she said.

"Rose, I am your _only_ little girl cousin."

"That's what makes you my favorite."

Lily laughed. "I'm okay. I haven't died from the homework load—yet."

"But third year is such a good year!" protested Rose. "You learn so much!"

"Only you, Rose," said Lily, shaking her head. "How's your O.W.L year going?"

"Oh, it's really good," said Rose, beaming. "I've been really busy with my Prefect duties of course, that's why I haven't gotten to hang out with you as much as I'd like. Say, have you talked to Hugo lately?"

"No," said Lily. "Why don't you ask Al? For some reason that I can not fathom your brother's greatest ambition is to _be_ my brother."

"Well, Al and Scorpius _are_ two of the most popular students at Hogwarts," said Rose.

Lily made a 'pfft' sound.

"I didn't say I _approved_," said Rose. "I certainly hope Hugo doesn't turn into such a-a _toublemaker_."

"I'm glad _someone_ agrees with me," said Lily.

"Where're Dawn and Marica?" said Rose.

"Dawn's at Quidditch practice and Marica's 'studying'," said Lily, making air quotes with her fingers.

"'Studying'?" said Rose, immitating Lily's air quotes.

"That's what she _says_ she's doing," said Lily. "But Darin Thomas doesn't strike me as the bookish type."

"Darin Thomas? That third year in the Wizards' Chess Club?"

"Yeah, him. He's had his eye on Marica for a while now. I don't think they've got much in common though."

"Ah," said Rose. "How about you and River Thurshal?"

"What about me and River?" said Lily.

"River and me," Rose corrected. "And you know, has anything happened? Has he asked you out?"

"Asked me out?" Lily spluttered. "Why does no one believe me when I say we'ere just friends? I don't see him that way, and I'm sure he doesn't see me that way either."

"Suit yourself," said Rose shrugging.

Suddenly Rose looked around. "Oh, hi," she said.

"Who are you talking to?" said Lily.

"Malfoy," said Rose.

Lily followed Rose's gaze and saw, surprise, surprise, Cassiopeia Malfoy standing a little ways away.

"Don't waste your time," said Lily. "She's not one for conversation."

"Don't talk about her like she's not here," Rose chided. "Hi, you're Cassiopeia Malfoy, right? I'm Rose Weasley." She extended her hand.

Cassiopeia blinked. "Hi."

Rose dropped her hand to her side. "Er—how are you liking your classes so far?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. Actually, she liked her classes, but shrugging was easier than talking to someone she didn't know, especially someone so much older than herself.

"What's your favorite class?" said Rose.

Cassiopeia thought about it. "Astronomy," she said, staring at the wall behind Rose's head.

"Oh..." said Rose. "I can lend you some books if you want..."

Cassiopeia shrugged.

"Rose, your books are too confusing to lend to anyone, especially a first year," said Lily.

"Hmm," hummed Rose discontentedly. "I remember a first year who very much resented being treated like a little kid. And I know a third year who still does." She gave Lily a meaningful look.

_"Rose—"_ started Lily, but just then there was a loud popping sound at the other end of the room and arguing voices rose above the rest of the chatter. Rose immediately got up to resolve the dispute, leaving Lily sitting on the couch, looking unconfortably at Cassiopeia Malfoy. Luckily she was saved by the return of Dawn, flushed and grinning, who proceeded to give a play-by-play account of the Quidditch practice. Lily had a very minimal interest in Quidditch, but she welcomed the distraction which gave her an excuse to look away from those usettlingly round blue eyes.

*****BWST*****

Christmas was in the air. Snowflakes drifted down lazily outside the castle windows, wreathes of holly and pine appeared on the doors of classroom, garlands of popcorn, cranberries, and christmas lights were strung up in the hallways, students made sure to look above their heads before going through doorways incase someone had hung mistletoe there, and Peeves went floating about over everyone's heads, singing rude parodies of Chrismas carols at the top of his lungs.

Christmas was probably Lily's favorite time of the year. Hogwarts castle always seemed so bright and cozy around the holiday season, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, and, as Dawn was fond of pointing out, there was a nearly endless supply of good things to eat. Of course there were also the presents. But the thing that Lily liked more than anything else about Christmas was that it meant two weeks spent with her entire extended family, and _without_ any Malfoys.

The holidays, however, were still more than a week away and the mood was dampened somewhere by the fact that the students somehow had to keep their excitement in check long enough to focus on their exams.

_"Why,"_ moaned Dawn, as she turned her star chart back and forth, squinting at the illustrations, "do we have to _know_ this?"

"It's important if you want to go into certain careers," said Marica, making a note on her own chart.

"Yeah, maybe," said Dawn, "but I don't want ot go into those careers. So what's the point?"

"But it's fascinating!" said Rose, who was studying for her own exams closeby.

"Not to me it's not."

Dawn gave an exaggerate yawn, but Rose, who was frantically taking notes from her Arithmancy book, didn't notice. It was her O.W.L year and she had worked herself into a nervous frenzy over the exams, which everyone but her was sure she would pass with flying colors.

"Oh, no," she mumbled, flipping through her notes. "I have almost _nothing_ about Caparthy's Specific Laws of Reduction! I just _know_ they're going to be on the test."

"Rose," said Lily and Rose's cousin Louis tiredly. "You're the best in your year. You'll do _fine_."

"Fine!" said Rose. "I have to do better than fine! And besides, I'm not the best in my year, Scorpius Malfoy is just as good."

Louis groaned, he cared for the Slytherin about as much as Lily did. "Enough with Scorpius Malfoy already," he said. "The boy's not even that good-looking." He smoothed his own silvery-blond locks with his fingers.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Vain," she muttered. "You just wait until _you_ have O.W.L s next year. See how you handle them."

"Hopefully better than you," he smirked.

She threw him a dirty look.

"_Relax_, Rosie," he said, using the nickname she hated. "You'll do great."

Lily set aside her star chart and opened her Charms book.

"I think we could all use a Cheering Charm right about now," she said, thumbing through the pages.

"Finally," said Dawn, "something practical!"

"Are there any charms in there to get rid of tag-alongs?" said Marica, looking past Lily at Cassiopeia, who was curled up in an armchair like a cat. They could just see her silver-blue eyes over the top of the Transfiguration book propped up on her knees.

"Some of the first years over there are forming a study group," said Rose distractedly, jerking her head at the other side of the room but not looking up from her work. "Maybe you can suggest that she join them."

Dawn and Marica looked at Lily.

"Why me?" Lily protested.

"She's your tag-along," Marica pointed out.

Scowling, Lily got up from the sofa an approached the small Malfoy.

"The other first years have a study group going over there," she said, indicating the far corner. "Why don't you go and join them?"

The little girl gave a shrug.

"Go on, go study," said Lily, giving the girl a push.

Cassiopeia picked up her books and walked over to the gathering of first years. Sitting in the corner agaisnt the wall, she reopened her Transfiguration book and continued studying by herself.

Lily sighed. "That girl has serious social issues."

"Maybe the Christmas holidays will ween her of her obsession with you," said Dawn.

"It's not even like an obsession," said Lily. "It's more like a—a habit or something. She's just always there."

"Well, maybe being away for two weeks will break it," said Marica.

"Let's hope so," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

Finally the exams were over and it was time for the holidays to begin. Lily was sure she had done at least decently on all of her exams except for History of Magic, which was her least favorite class anyway. Hugo, who was sure he had failed his Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, assured her that she had probably done brilliantly in all of her exams and not to worry. She hardly needed the advice though; she was far to excited about the Christmas holidays to worry about exam marks that she couldn't change anyways.

Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Rose piled onto the Hogwarts express on Saturday morning chattering excitedly. Rose soon left to join some of her fellow fifth years and Lily, Dawn, and Marica found a compartment for themselves. For once Cassiopeia Malfoy was not following them. Lily could only assume that she was with her older brother, and so much the better in Lily's opinion. The three girls were soon joined by the rest of their dorm mates; Tamzen Guthrie, Brandi Formans, and Paloma Cartrez, along with Tamzen's boyfriend of the week, the new Hufflepuff Chaser Logan Smiths.

The seven of them passed the train ride playing Wizards' Chess, discussing Quidditch (Dawn, Tamzen, Brandi, and Logan), the news (Lily, Marica, and Paloma), and boys (Marica, Dawn, and Paloma), and eating snacks they bought off the trolley when it came by.

About halfway through the trip several loud explosions echoed from a compartment several doors down, followed by the sound of familiar laughter.

"Oh no," said Lily, as she saw a blond head and a dark one dart through the corridor. "What are they up to now? On second thought, I don't want to know."

Not everyone in the compartment shared this opinion, however; Logan, Tamzen, Brandi, and Paloma all stood up and went to the compartment door to get a look. When everything had finally settled back down Logan said, "Hey, when did she get here?"

Lily glanced over to the seats across from theirs and saw that they were no longer empty. She groaned.

Cassiopeia Malfoy was sitting crosslegged in the next set of seats, reading a small paperback book.

"Why aren't you with your brother?" said Lily in an annoyed tone.

Cassiopeia looked over the top of her book. Her eyes went to the door leading into the corridor and her thin, pale eyebrows lifted.

Lily was baffled.

"Talk like a normal person, would you?" she said irritably.

Cassiopeia would have dearly liked to make a sarcastic retort to this remark, but all she managed was, "He's busy."

Lily remembered the bangs and laughter. Oh. Right. "Yes...well, I imagine he is," she huffed. "Well, leave us alone."

_That's what I was doing_, thought Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

"Look!" cried Dawn, leaning so far out of the window she was liable to fall out. Marica grabbed her around the waist. "I can see the platform!"

The rest of them immediately crowded around the window to try and get a glimpse of platform 9 ¾ as it came into view. Leaning around Dawn, Lily saw her parents waving at the train and waved back, grinning. She hadn't _missed_ them exactly, Hogwarts was much too interesting and far too much like home, but it was good to see them.

The Hogwarts Express shuddered to a stop and the students on board grabbed their luggage and began crowding the doors, eager to get onto the platform. Lily waved goodbye to Dawn and Marica as they spotted their parents and ran off in opposite directions, then she joined the small army of Potters and Weasleys heading toward the group of adults standing off to the left.

"Hi, Lily," said her father, scooping her up in a big hug.

Her mother tried to plant a kiss on Albus's cheek but he squirmed away with a pentulant cry of _"Mu-um!"_

"How was school?" asked Lily's father, ignoring the looks the rest of the people on the platform were sending his way.

"It was good," said Lily, smiling up into her father's face. "Only—"

She was interrupted by a loud shout. "Bye Al! See you next term. Can't wait for more Marau—"

"SHHH!" said Albus, cutting Scorpius off.

"Oops, sorry," said Scorpius, not looking sorry at all. He waved to Albus, who waved back. At his side the diminuitve figure of Cassiopeia Malfoy raised a hand and waved too. Lily ignored the gesture.

"Only what?" said Harry, never one to miss hints dropped by his children. Lily was pretty sure he had gotten the one Scorpius let slip about "Maurading" too and would check his desk drawer as soon as he got home.

"Only _her_," said Lily, nodding jerkily toward the youngest Malfoy.

"She got Sorted into Gryffindor and somehow Scorpius and Al got it into their heads that I should 'take care of her' at the beginning of the year. She hasn't stopped following me around since!"

Harry gave her a sympathetic look. "Give it time, Lily girl," he said.

Lily smiled, somehow her father had a way of making everything seem not as bad as it had before.

"Let's _go_," said Hugo, ever the impatient one.

"Good idea," said his dad, Lily's Uncle Ron, clapping his son on the shoulder. "I'm _starved_."

**AN: As always, if you feel so inclined I would love to get reviews from you, no matter how long ago this chapter was written.**


	4. Holidays, Letters, and Too Much Homework

**Author's Note: The chapter that when I first wrote it sat around unable to be posted 'cause I was in a hotel where they charge $14 a day for internet. No thanks :P**

**Disclaimer: Did anyone actually think I owned Harry Potter? I didn't think so.**

**Chapter Four: Holidays, Letters, and Too Much Homework**

The holidays went by in a flurry of delightful activity. Despite the fact that she kept looking over her shoulder, expecting to see Cassiopeia Malfoy standing there watching her, Lily had a wonderful time.

On Christmas Eve the entire Potter-Weasley (and Lupin) family somehow managed to fit themselves into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Lily's mum, aunts, and grandmother cooked up a spectacular dinner and her Uncle George amused them with his annual display of fireworks. Just before the meal was served, Neville and Hannah Longbottom, Hogwarts Herbology professor and landlady of the Leaky Cauldron respectively and long-time family friends, and Luna and Rolf Scamander and their twin nine-year-old boys Lorcan and Lysander, more family friends, showed up. The twins, who shared their mother's intelligence and curiosity, as well as her penchant for the bizarre, demanded to know exactly how Uncle George's fireworks worked. Luckily, Uncle George's wife, Aunt Angelina, called them to dinner before they could set fire to the Christmas tree, a truly spectacular confection complete with singing ornaments, real fairies, and an angel who, upon closer inspection, was revealed to be a garden gnome wearing a pair of wings and a tiara (apparently this was something of a family tradition dating back to when Lily's mother and uncles were small).

After dinner, when everyone was getting sleepy from eating too much turkey, the Longbottoms and the Scamanders had left, and Teddy and Victoire were looking at each other sloppily enough to make Louis and Albus gag, the children were all ushered up to bed by a veritable army of stern mothers who told them that there wouldn't be any presents if they didn't go to sleep at once.

Of course, none of them _did_ go to sleep at once. Lying on her bed with her cousins Rose, Dominique (a Ravenclaw sixth year), Roxanne (A seventh year Hufflepuff prefect), Molly (Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey's daughter who had graduated from Hogwarts the year before), and Lucy (Molly's younger sister and Hogwarts Headgirl) in cots all around her, Lily stayed up late into the night talking. Eventually she just lay back and let the older girls' conversations float around her as she slowly drifted off into slumber...

*****BWST*****

The next morning the girls were awoken by two nine-year-old rockets dashing into their room and jumping on their beds.

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" squealed Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, who had obviously returned for Christmas Day breakfast and opening presents. "Get up, get up, get _up_!"

Simultaneously groaning at the early hour and laughing at the young boys' antics, the six girls threw on their bathrobes and made their way downstairs. They could hear the two rooms of boys reluctantly waking up down the hall.

"How come they get _two_ rooms?" asked Lucy in an annoyed tone, massaging her back. "There are only five of them and six of us."

"'Cause I have two brothers," said Lily, shrugging. "Two brothers, two rooms. As dad says, Al and James'll share a room when we want the house demolished."

"Oh c'mon, you ask that every year, Luce" said Molly. "Cheer up, it's Christmas!"

"There are fewer of us than there used to be," Roxanne pointed out.

"Yeah, well, there are fewer of them too," said Lucy as they entered the living room, giving the couch where Teddy and Victoire were still cuddled together a pointed look.

"Urgh," said Fred Jr., coming onto the room and pulling a face at his cousins. "Get a room."

Teddy threw a pillow at the nineteen-year-old, who ducked it.

"Respect your elders," said Teddy. Fred just stuck out his tongue.

The rest of Christmas day was full of laughter, presents, and way too many cookies. Albus, in a rare display of genuine brotherly affection, hugged Lily as he handed her his present: a sparkling mirror that doubled as a fashion advisor (literally, no sooner had Lily looked into it than it said, "I hope you're not wearing _that_ out of the house) and a way to spy on people ("Which," said Lily, bopping her brother on the head, "I don't _do_!"). James gave her a case that folded up very small but, when opened, could fit all manner of things into its many drawers and pockets. Hugo, smiling endearingly, had given her a necklace with a crystal lily charm on it, and from Rose she had received a dragon-hide bound day planner. Lily's parents had presented her with, among other things, an envelope which, once opened, revealed three tickets (one each for her, Dawn, and Marica) to the Breathless Banshees concert that summer.

"I know it's a ways away," said her mother as Lily screamed madly. "But it'll give you something to look forward to."

"Thanks Mum! Thanks Dad!" said Lily, beaming.

*****BWST*****

Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, even if, or maybe particularly when, we don't wish them to. The rest of the holidays seemed to whiz by and before they knew it it was time for them to once again board the Hogwarts Express and head back to school. Not that this was entirely bad, Lily missed her friends and her dorm-mates and the others were all discussing the many plans they had for once they got back, but Lily was just a little sad to be leaving her family again. She had always been the most home-body type in her family. James had been only too eager to get to Hogwarts and Albus, though initially nervous, had taken to the school like a fish to water. Lily had been excited to go of course, and she loved it there, but she had always looked forward to her vacations and had never been ashamed of writing home to her family just to say hi. No matter how much she loved Hogwarts number 12 Grimmauld Place would always be home. Still, as she and the rest of her family arrived at King's Cross Station and went through the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾, she scanned the crowd intently for Dawn and Marica, eager to share all of her gifts with them and hear about their holidays.

"Hey! Lily!" Dawn came bounding up and grabbed Lily's hand, bouncing up and down in excitement. "Lily! Lily! Lily! Let's get a compartment before they're all filled up!"

"Relax, Dawn," said Lily, laughing at her enthusiastic friend. "I'm sure there are still plenty of compartments."

Lily hurriedly kissed her family goodbye and then followed Dawn toward the scarlet steam engine. Albus and Hugo were already ahead of them, Albus talking animatedly with Scorpius Malfoy and Hugo hanging onto their every word. Behind them, as silent and ghost-like as always, stood Cassiopeia Malfoy, her blond hair shining in the pale morning sunshine breaking through the clouds overhead. Lily sped up, hoping to hurry past without being noticed, but the little girl looked up and caught Lily's eye. She waved shyly and then looked away, tugging on her brother's sleeve. He leaned down and said something to her. Lily continued on, but she knew without looking that the small first year was following her and Dawn onto the train and to their compartment.

When they reached the compartment door Lily turned around in the doorway and faced Cassiopeia. "Go. Away," she said slowly and clearly, scowling down at the younger girl. Then she slammed the door.

"What was that about?" said Dawn, heaving her trunk on to the luggage rack.

"Malfoy," muttered Lily.

Dawn made a face. "Still?"

"Apparently," said Lily dryly.

Marica appeared at the door as the train began to pull away from the station.

"Merlin's pants!" she cried, throwing herself down onto the seat beside Lily. "Of all the ridiculous reasons to almost miss the train!"

"What happened?" said Lily curiously.

"My little sister threw a temper tantrum because I ate the last of the gingerbread for breakfast." She rolled her eyes. "And then my mom got mad at me because I was apparently 'being unfair'. Whatever. I made it." She grinned. "So, how were your holidays?"

While Dawn was giving a detailed account of the fifth night of her family's Hanukkah celebrations (having already covered the first four) Brandi stuck her head into the compartment.

"D'you know," she said, "that the little Malfoy girl is sitting outside of your compartment, cool as you please, reading a book?"

Lily groaned. "Are you serious? I told her to scram!"

They heard voices out in the corridor.

"Excuse me, Malfoy is it? What are you doing out here?" It sounded like Lucy Weasley, Headgirl and Lily's second oldest cousin still at Hogwarts (Roxanne was older by a few months).

There was a muffled reply.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to move into a compartment," said Lucy's voice. "You're blocking the corridor."

There was the sound of a shifting trunk and person and a moment later Cassiopeia Malfoy entered the compartment, dragging her trunk behind her. She stowed her luggage and then looked up, her pale blond hair falling in her face.

"Hi, Lily," she breathed, offering the older girl a small smile before sitting down cross-legged on and empty seat and opening her book.

The four third years gave each other long-suffering looks and then Brandi retreated back into the corridor.

"Marvelous," said Lily sarcastically. "Condemned by my own cousin."

*****BWST*****

The month of January plodded by. The teachers, seemingly wanting to make up for the two weeks during which there had been no classes, were giving them more homework than ever. Unable to shake Cassiopeia Malfoy's presence either with dark looks or sharp words, Lily opted for ignoring her completely. The girl was there, she had even progressed to offering the occasional word of greeting, but Lily simply acted as though she didn't exist. It wasn't as though Cassiopeia actually actively did anything to bother her, she was simply there. Which, as Rose had pointed out when Lily had complained to her, wasn't actually a crime.

As January faded into February, the dreary winter mood of the castle began to lighten. The next Hogsmeade weekend was scheduled for February the fourteenth, Valentine's Day. Hogwarts's many couples and prospective couples were planning romantic dates and special presents, while everyone else was just looking forward to a good time in the village.

Lily, Dawn, and Marica, none of whom had boyfriends or dates for Valentine's Day, were again going to Hogmeade together. Dawn and Marica had teased Lily about River, saying that he was sure to ask her out any day now. But, much to her relief, he said nothing about the upcoming lovers' holiday when they saw each other in the corridors.

"Thirteen is too young to be dating anyway," said Lily as the three of them walked down the lane toward The Three Broomsticks.

"Tamzen doesn't think so," said Marica.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Who wants to have a new boyfriend every other week anyway? She'll have gone through them all before she's ready to be serious."

"Come on, Lily," said Dawn, nursing her large, pink, heart-shaped lollipop. "You've got to be sweet on _someone_!"

"No," said Lily, "I really don't. I've told you. There's no one I'm interested in."

"Fine then," said Dawn, "be a spoilsport. I know who _I'd_ be here with if I could." She sucked her lollipop dreamily.

"Who?" said Marica.

"Andy Hoarman!"

"The bassist for the Breathless Banshees?" said Marica. "That doesn't count! I mean a real person!"

"He _is_ a real person," argued Dawn. "And I'm going to meet him someday!"

"He's _twenty-five_," said Marica.

"You say that as if it's ancient," said Dawn. "Okay then, who would _you_ go with?"

Marica looked pensive. "Mmmm...well...Louis Weasley is pretty cute..."

Lily smacked her on the head.

"But he's not really my type," she continued hurriedly. "I prefer someone like...Isaac Vash."

Lily snorted. "Isaac Vash? That tortured, brooding sixth year? You've got about as much of a chance with him as Dawn has with Andy Hoarman."

The three girls spent the rest of the day wandering around Hogsmeade, returning to Hogwarts castle only when the afternoon drizzle became an evening downpour.

When Lily came through the door, ringing out her long red hair, Cassiopeia looked up from the letter she was writing and gave her her customary small smile. Lily ignored her, but this didn't phase Cassiopeia too much. The older girl had stopped glaring at her and telling her to bug off, which Cassiopeia viewed as a step forward in their friendship. True, Lily never actually talked to her, but Cassiopeia never talked to Lily either. It wasn't that she didn't want to, or even that she didn't know what to say, she just couldn't figure how to actually say it. Not talking was so much easier than talking. As Lily, Dawn, and Marica continued up to their dormitory to change into dry clothes, Cassiopeia turned back to her letter.

_Dear Mother and Father,_

_How are you? Do you miss me? I miss you already, but I like being back at school too. I am doing well, as is Scorpius, though, as I am sure you have heard, he has been up to his usual tricks and mischief. As always Albus is with him. I'm sure he has already forgotten his promise to write to you, so I will write for him to assure you that he is well. (Though I'm afraid the same can't be said for the caretaker's storage closet... You shall probably hear of that presently)._

_My grades are still good; even though my professors have started giving more work it's not really a problem for me to work on it since I don't have many other things to do. Don't worry though, Scorpius checks in with me when he can and I have my friend Lily for company. We don't talk of course, but we are together a lot. I'm still not sure whether she really likes me, but I like her and unless I ever get up the nerve to actually say what I'm thinking (a highly doubtful possibility, but no matter) it doesn't really matter now does it?_

_I have already read all the books you gave me for Christmas and I liked them very much. Unfortunately there were no rare cards in the chocolate frogs at all; only a bunch of Harry Potters and Albus Dumbledores and another Ptolemy and a Wendelin the Weird. I set them out in the dormitory with a note on them telling my dorm-mates they could have them and they disappeared, so I am assuming they took advantage of the offer. _

_If I were Scorpius I would have enough exciting news to fill pages and pages of this letter. But then, if I were Scorpius I would not be writing this letter at all. I would be far too busy creating said news and gallivanting around with...well, never mind. I promise to write soon. I'd promise for Scorpius too if I thought it would make any difference._

_With love,_

_Your Daughter_

_Cassiopeia Dione Malfoy_

*****BWST*****

"Is he serious?" moaned Dawn as she, Lily, and Marica left the Potions classroom after their lesson one day in early March. "A three foot essay on Shrinking Potions and the importance of each ingredient and step? He can't be serious!"

"I'm pretty sure he is, Dawn," said Marica.

"Though you could test that theory by not doing your essay," suggested Lily teasingly.

"No thanks," Dawn grumbled. "I'll pass."

"Wise decision," said Marica sagely.

Dawn swung at her with her bookbag but Marica stepped out of the way and Dawn overbalanced and fell against the wall.

"Smooth one, Hartly."

The girls looked up. It was Kyle Jordan, pretty much the definition of tall dark and handsome. He was in his fifth year and just about every girl in the third, fourth, and fifth years had a crush on him. Every girl except for Lily that was.

"Ha ha ha, very funny, Jordan." she said rolling her eyes. It's not that Lily didn't like Kyle. She thought he actually was pretty fun most of the time. But as practically the only girl who didn't trip over herself giggling and blushing whenever he talked to her, she felt it was her duty to knock him down a peg or two.

Dawn and Marica, true to form, tittered and gazed up at Kyle with puppy dog eyes. Several other girls along the corridor, all third and fourth years, were shooting them envious glances. In fact, the only other girl in the vicinity who wasn't drooling over the tall, dark, and handsome Kyle Jordan was a small, pale first year standing a ways beside and behind Lily: Cassiopeia Malfoy.

The two girls met each others' eyes. Cassiopeia cocked an eyebrow and Lily raised her own in spite of herself. Cassiopeia's smirk widened, but Lily changed her expression from amused to annoyed and turned her back on the tiny first year.

Kyle grinned at her.

Lily rolled her eyes. _I am surrounded by fools_.

"What d'you want, Jordan?" she asked, hand on her hip

Kyle raised his eyebrows innocently. "Me? Want? Why, nothing. Just passing by."

And, laughing, he walked away down the hall.

"Hey, earth to Dawn, earth to Marica.." said Lily, snapping her fingers in front of her friends' faces.

"He is sooooo dreamy," sighed Marica.

"Oh come on," said Lily, prodding her friends in the backs. "Let's go work on Professor Marbury's essay."

"Wow, way to kill the mood," grumbled Dawn.

*****BWST*****

"Dangit!" said Lily, rifling through her pile of papers. "I can't find my essay! I know I wrote it!" she fumed. "Where _is_ it?"

"Relax, Lily," said Marica. "We know you did it too. It has to be around here somewhere."

Dawn picked up Lily's stack of papers and peered at it. "I dunno Lily. I don't see your essay..."

"Maybe you left it in the library," suggested Marica.

"Dangit!" said Lily again. "I bet you're right." She checked her watch. "Curfew was nearly an hour ago. I'd better hurry and hope I don't get caught."

She headed over toward the portrait hole. Cassiopeia Malfoy rose from a nearby chair and followed.

"Scram," said Lily tiredly. "I'm just getting my essay from the library."

But when Lily ducked out of the portrait hole she heard the unmistakable sound of a smaller set of feet following her into the corridor.

This was confirmed by the Fat Lady a moment later.

"Where do you think you're going, you two?" she demanded. "Out after curfew?"

"I left my Potions essay in the library," said Lily.

"And that takes two of you?" said the Fat Lady skeptically.

"Apparently," said Lily dryly, and she hurried off toward the library, Cassiopeia trailing companionably behind her.

Luckily, Lily didn't run into anyone else on her way to the library. Sticking her head into the deserted room, she saw her potions essay laying on the table where she had been working earlier that evening. Breathing a sigh of relief, she quickly went over to it, picked it up, and tucked it under her arm.

"Found it," she said to herself.

"That's good," said Cassiopeia.

Lily jumped. She had forgotten that the first year was there.

"Oh, let's go before we're caught out of bed," said Lily irritably.

They had hardly left the library, however, when they bumped into something invisible.

"Oof!" said Lily as Cassiopeia picked herself up from the floor where she had fallen. "What the heck?"

Lily stuck her wand out in front of her and poked something solid.

"Hey!" said a voice. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

"_Al?"_

There was as rustle and then Albus and Scorpius appeared in front of her, pulling off the Invisibility Cloak Albus had inherited from their dad.

"What are you doing here?" said Albus.

"_I_ am getting my Potions essay that I left in the library. What are _you_ doing here? No, on second thought I don't want to know."

Albus and Scorpius laughed mischievously.

"Never you mind, Little Lily," said Scorpius condescendingly. "You'll know soon enough."

"Oh brother," said Lily, shaking her head in disgust and walking off.

"That's who I am, sis," said Albus with a cocky salute.

Scorpius, meanwhile, had pulled his own little sister aside.

"Hey, Cassie, what are you doing out here?"

"Sticking with Lily," said Cassiopeia. "What are _you_ doing?" she added slyly.

Scorpius smiled knowingly. "Like I said to Lily, never you mind."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes. "You know that's infuriating, don't you?"

"I know."

Cassiopeia stuck her tongue out at her brother and then hurried up the corridor after Lily.

"What took you so long?" said Marica when Lily ad Cassiopeia came back into the Gryffindor common room.

"I ran into Al and Malfoy," said Lily.

"What are they up to now?" said Dawn.

"I don't know!" said Lily, throwing up her hands. "And I don't care! Let's get up to bed."

**AN: Reviews are welcome no matter how long ago this was posted, just saying. :)**

**-SQ**


	5. Chapter 5: Spring Fever

**AN: Just in case you're interested, Dawn is a little bit like me in middle school, not completely, but a little.**

**Chapter Five: Spring Fever**

Those who had been looking forward to something to break the monotony of school were not disappointed the next morning. Albus and Scorpius had indeed been up to something wandering around the school the night before, and it wasn't long before someone discovered just what that "something" was.

"AAAAAAARRRRGGGHH!" A sixth year Hufflepuff prefect ran out of the prefects' bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

Hopping along behind him came—a parade of toilets. They clanked and clonked their way into the hall, splashing water onto the floor with every hop.

The entire hallway roared with laughter. Lily, however, was not amused. _"Albus,"_ she muttered. _"Malfoy."_

Behind her she heard a high, soft titter. She looked over her shoulder and saw Cassiopeia Malfoy giggling into her hand. At first Lily was struck dumb. She had never seen the small Malfoy do something like _giggle_ before. But soon her shock turned into annoyance.

"Think it's funny, do you?" she snapped. "Think your big brother's gone and done something really clever? Really cool? Hopping _toilets_! Really!" And she walked off in a huff, thinking very little of the sense of humor of the school as a whole.

*****BWST*****

Lily was in a foul mood all day. Everyone was talking about the prefects' bathroom prank, admiring the boys' handiwork and wondering just how they had done it.

In addition, all of her teachers had assigned her a massive amount of homework, which she found herself having to complete by herself, since Dawn had Quidditch practice and Marica was at a Wizards' Chess Club meeting.

Sitting by herself in the common room, her homework spread out over the table in front of her, Lily impatiently brushed her long red hair out of her face and scowled down at the blank sheet of parchment that was supposed to be her History of Magic essay. Who cared about the twelfth provision of the Statute of Secrecy anyway?

She dipped her quill into her inkwell and would have sworn if she ever used that kind of language. She had been sitting there for so long that her ink had dried up. Now she would have to go up to her dormitory to get more.

Then a small, pale hand appeared at the edge of her vision, holding a inkwell full of black ink.

Lily glanced up and saw that it was Cassiopeia Malfoy who was offering her the ink.

As much as she didn't want to accept any interaction from the bothersome little should-be-Slytherin, Lily knew that it would be stupid to go all the way up to her dorm for ink when it was being offered to her right here. She curtly accepted the proffered inkwell with a curt nod and dipped her quill into it, resigning herself to writing the boring essay.

*****BWST*****

Dawn came in a while later, covered in mud and flushed from the wind.

"How was practice?" said Lily, pausing in the middle of her Care of Magical Creatures report, which she had now moved on to, having finished the History of Magic essay.

"Good!" said Dawn grinning brightly. "James figures we've got a really good chance of winning the Cup this year!" she looked over Lily's shoulder. "What're you doing?"

"Care of Magical Creatures report."

Dawn made a face. "Do we have that class tomorrow?"

"Yes," said Lily, sighing at her friend's ditsy-ness. "We have it every Wednesday."

"Before or after lunch?"

"After."

"Good. I'll do at lunch."

"You really shouldn't leave your work until the last minute like that," said Marcia reproachfully, coming through the portrait hole.

"But I always do that," said Dawn.

"I _know_," said Marica.

"I'm knackered," said Dawn. "I'm going to bed."

"Me too," said Marica. "I already finished _my_ homework. Coming Lily?"

"I'll be up in a little while," said Lily, "just as soon as I finish this."

"Alright."

Her two friends went upstairs and Lily got back to work on her homework which, she conceded, she really should have started earlier.

*****BWST*****

When Lily finally looked up from her homework she realized that it was very late. The common room was almost completely empty apart from a few late night studiers and a couple or two concealed in shadowy corners. Lily closed her books and packed her papers back into her bag and then swung it over her shoulder.

As she started toward the girls' staircase something caught her eye and she glanced back. There was a small shape curled up in one of the armchairs across from where she had been sitting. Squinting in the dim light, Lily made out the form of Cassiopeia Malfoy, apparently asleep in the large chair. She looked even smaller than usual, with her fair head pillowed on her arm and her mouth slightly open, each breath ruffling her long, pale hair and briefly exposing her sleeping face.

Lily wondered what she should do. She didn't want anything to do with the youngest Malfoy, or with any of the Malfoys for that matter, but she couldn't very well leave her sleeping here in this chair. Lily bit her lip and then hesitantly tapped the younger girl on the shoulder.

Cassiopeia shifted slightly in her sleep but didn't wake. Lily tapped her shoulder more insistently.

"Little Malfoy. Little Malfoy! Wake up!" she said, growing impatient. "I am not going to stay up babysitting you!"

Cassiopeia opened her eyes and blinked up at the person standing above her. "Hi, Lily," she said, surprised that the older girl was talking to her. "I must have fallen asleep."

"Obviously," replied Lily.

"Have you finished your homework, then?" said Cassiopeia.

"Yes," said Lily, hardly able to believe that Little Malfoy was almost carrying on a _conversation_. "And now I'm going to bed. I advise you to do the same." And without waiting to see if Cassiopeia was following, Lily headed up the stairs to bed.

*****BWST*****

"Hey, psssst, Malfoy,"

Cassiopeia didn't look up, but instead clutched the books in her arms more tightly. Her instinct was correct, the next moment someone collided with her and would have sent them flying if she hadn't been holding on to them so tightly.

"Malfoy!" said the voice again. "Don't you got nothing to _say_?" The voice sniggered.

Cassiopeia glanced up and saw, as she knew she would, Jonah Belinski, fellow Gryffindor first year, smirking down at her.

"Where you goin', Malfoy?"

_Your grammar is worse than a troll's_ thought Cassiopeia, but what she said was, "The common room."

"What you gonna _dooo_ there?" said Belinski, bumping into her again.

"Homework," said Cassiopeia, holding her books steady.

"What _kiiiiind_ of homework? Tell me all about it," he said.

Cassiopeia ignored him. Belinski would eventually leave her alone when he didn't get a rise out of her. The others who had teased her at the beginning of the year for being so quiet and shy had given up when she failed to react, but Belinski was either so stubborn or so thick-headed that he continued to bother her, even when she didn't rise to his bait.

Catching sight of Lily ahead of her in the corridor, talking with her friends Dawn and Marica, Cassiopeia headed toward them, thinking that maybe the presence of older students would deter Belinski.

"Where you goin' huh?" said Belinski again. "Can't be to your friends, you don't got none!"

Cassiopeia dearly wanted to say 'Yes, that's right Belinski, I don't got none,' but she simply said nothing.

"Don't look now," said Marica, "but Little Malfoy is coming this way."

"What else is new?" sighed Lily, running her fingers through her dark red hair. She glanced in Cassiopeia's direction. "Hey, maybe she's finally found a friend."

Dawn looked too. "I dunno. It doesn't look like they're friends," she said dubiously. "It looks like that kid's picking on her."

Obviously frustrated at Cassiopeia's lack of reaction, Belinski leaned over and shoved her up against the wall. The boy, although not particularly tall himself, towered over her by a good six inches.

"Don't got no answer to that, huh?" he said, shoving her shoulder again.

Cassiopeia maintained her silence.

"Cat got your tongue?" sneered Belinski. "Or maybe it's a _Badger _or a _Snake_. Don't see how you ever got into Gryffindor, you coward."

He shoved her again, this time succeeding in sending her books toppling from her arms.

"Aren't you going to do something?" said Dawn, watching the two first years anxiously.

"What for? I'm not a prefect." said Lily.

"But—but he's a bully!" protested Dawn. "And you're supposed to be protecting her," she addend reproachfully.

"That ended ages ago," said Lily, ignoring the nagging feeling in her stomach that it hadn't really. "Anyway, the girl has to learn to stand up for herself. I wouldn't be doing her any favors, fighting her battles for her. Besides, he's going away."

It was true; Belinski, finally tired of taunting the unresponsive Cassiopeia Malfoy, had turned on his heel and stalked off, but not before spitting meanly on Cassiopeia's shoe and muttering. "Filthy Pure-bloods."

Cassiopeia bent down and picked up her books and then looked up in the direction of Lily, Marica, and Dawn.

Lily averted her eyes.

"Come on," she muttered. "Let's go. We'll be late for class."

*****BWST*****

Lily quashed the guilt she felt at seeing Belinski bullying Cassiopeia and doing nothing by telling herself firmly that the small Malfoy needed to learn to fight her own battles. As the youngest in a large extended family, and with two older brothers, Lily had learned the hard way how to stand up for herself. The younger girl was learning the lesson a bit late, true, but better late than never. Besides, Lily had more important things to worry about than the petty troubles of first years. The boy probably had a crush on Little Malfoy, though Merlin only knew why. They'd work it out on their own. And if it did get out of hand, well...a prefect would deal with it. With a brother like Albus, Lily had leaned to live by the motto 'mind your own business.'

So, whenever she saw the Gryffindor boy, or any other first year at all, approach Cassiopeia, Lily turned the other way. If they were her friends, great, none of Lily's business. If they weren't, well, still none of Lily's business, and she was determined to keep it that way. Eventually the thick-headed Malfoy girl would figure out that she and Lily really had nothing to do with each other. Until then, Lily tolerated her presence, which she had become used to by now, but offered her no encouragement.

Cassiopeia had a vague idea that helping her would be something that a friend might do. After all, Scorpius and Albus helped each other all the time, and so did Lily, Dawn, and Marica. And that older boy, River, he was always helping Lily too. But Cassiopeia didn't lay any blame on Lily for not helping her. Albus and Scorpius liked each other, and so did Lily, Dawn, Mairca, and River, at least she assumed so. And Cassiopeia got the impression that Lily's feelings toward her weren't exactly warm and fuzzy. That was alright, Cassiopeia's mother and Father had plenty of friends whom they didn't like, and who didn't like them; as least Cassiopeia liked Lily, and Lily wasn't mean to Cassiopeia. Unless she talked about her behind her back, but somehow she didn't think Lily was the kind of person who would do that. That was something. And she certainly wasn't going to ask Lily for help. That would involve initiating a conversation, and ignoring her tormentors worked well enough. Besides, she had the Malfoy pride. No, Cassiopeia was content sitting in her chosen armchair, nearly enveloped by the large, crimson cushions, sucking the sugar-quill her parents had sent her and tuning out the other first years around her as she watched her friend Lily over the top of her Astronomy homework.

*****BWST*****

Spring was well and fully in bloom around Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Flowers sprung up everywhere, and trees were bursting into bloom left and right, driving Louis' and Dominique's hay fever crazy, and the third years found themselves taking care of newborn knarls in their Care of Magical Creatures classes.

Lily, Dawn, and Marica took to doing their homework outside underneath the very tree that, unbeknownst to her, Lily's grandfather had sat with his three best friends on many a spring day during their time as Hogwarts.

Cassiopeia had moved accordingly from the large armchair by the fire to a patch of daisies near to the tree. Often she would sit, quietly humming to herself as she read her textbook or practiced spells and absently made daisy chains with her small, slender fingers, afterwards braiding them through her fine hair, making her look more elven than ever.

What puzzled Lily was that the young girl, though she had still no friends as far as Lily could tell, and was generally ignored or even snubbed by her classmates, seemed perfectly content. Eleven (or was she twelve by now?) year olds should be running around in the spring sunshine playing tag or tug-of-war or red-rover (thought, with Cassiopeia Malfoy's dainty build that one might not be such a good idea) or something with their friends, not gazing dreamily at the lake or turning their wide pale eyes toward older girls who paid them no mind. And why, Lily asked herself in annoyance, was she thinking about Cassiopeia at all? She _didn't_ pay her any mind. That was the point, wasn't it?

Cassiopeia was engaged in creating a particularly ornate weave pattern with several of her daisy chains when a shadow fell over her, blocking out her light.

"Do you mind?" said she said, not turning her eyes or her mind from her work. "I'm trying to work here and I need to see to do it. You're right in front of the sun, and frankly you make a better door than a window."

"Well, well, well, found a voice have you? Whatcha doin' with your precious sun? Getting' a tan?"

_Wait, _though Cassiopeia, _did I just say that out loud?_

Lily, sitting under the tree ten feet away, turned to Marcia and Dawn.

"Did little Malfoy just say what I think she said?"

The other two looked just as shocked.

"I didn't know she could say so many words in a row!" said Marica.

Cassiopeia finally looked up. Of course, Belinski. Wasn't he tired of her yet?

_What do you want? _She thought, but now that she was thinking, her moment of verbal expression had evaporated and her comments stayed firmly inside her own head.

"Daisy chains?" sneered the looming boy, peering down at the flowers in her lap. "What a baby."

_I'd like to see _you_ try and make one. _Thought Cassiopeia. _With your big clumsy fingers._

Deliberately ignoring Belinski, Cassiopeia turned back to the daisies. These daisy chains happened to be extra special. Lily's birthday was just days away, and Cassiopeia was planning on making the chains into a hair piece for her and putting a preservation charm on it, with Scorpius's help. The older girl hadn't given her anything for her birthday, but that was only to be expected, since Cassiopeia had never told her when it was.

Unfortunately, Belinski did not take kindly to being ignored.

"I'm talkin' to you, Malfoy!" he said.

When he still got no response, he looked down at the pile of intricately woven daisies next to Cassiopeia's crossed feet.

"What do you think of _this_, then?" he said, and brought his foot down upon the pile.

Cassiopeia stared at the ruined daisies in shock. It had taken her all week to make them, and they were supposed to be Lily's birthday present. Suddenly the Malfoy temper, which usually lay dormant deep inside her, flared up.

"Those weren't _mine_ you flobberworm!" she cried, rising to her feet. "They were for a _friend_!"

"Ha," snorted Belinski. "You don't got no friends!" He ground his foot harder down into the flowers.

Cassiopeia didn't know why she did what she did next. She didn't even recall deciding to do it. But her hand flew back and she slapped the taller boy in the face with all her might, which was a surprising amount for such a slight girl. Not expecting the blow, Belinski went reeling backward, a shocked look on his face. Then he started blubbering.

"I'll teach you to hit me!" he yelled through his tears, aiming a punch at the small girl. Cassiopeia side-stepped around his arm and skipped back. Belinski swung again, but this punch didn't reach it's mark either; it was intercepted by a forceful grip around his wrist.

"How dare you hit someone so much smaller than you?" said Lily, fury burning in her usually peaceful brown eyes. "Here Malfoy is, just sitting and minding her own business, and you come along and ruin her day. What has she ever done to you anyway? She never does anything to anyone, good or bad! If anyone should have a grievance against her it's me! And do you see me trying to knock her over with my fists like a common street thug? Do you have _any_ brains at all? Do you want her brother to come after you? Or her father? I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when Scorpius Malfoy and my brother Albus find out about this, that's for sure! I don't know how you got into Gryffindor at all, you bloody coward!"

She shoved the sniffling boy away in disgust and wiped her hands on her skirt.

"She hit me!" sobbed the boy.

"And that's such a good reason to hit her back," scoffed Lily. "Way to be the bigger man. Serves you right anyway. Don't let me see you near me again, do you understand?"

Belinski took another look at Lily's blazing eyes and then fled in the opposite direction, still bawling and holding his cheek.

_Pathetic_, thought Lily. _I've been hit harder than that by Al and Louis and Domi and Hugo. I bet even Lorcan and Lysander wouldn't have cried so hard, and they're only nine!_

She turned back to Cassiopeia. "Are you okay, Little Malfoy?" she asked brusquely.

"Yes," said Cassiopeia, brushing herself off daintily and a little dazedly. "Thank you. I'm sorry he crushed your flowers."

Lily gave her a blank stare. "My flowers?"

"The ones I was making for you," said Cassiopeia softly, staring at the ground. "For your birthday."

"My birthday," said Lily dumbly. "How do you know when my birthday is?"

Apparently all talked out for the moment, Cassiopeia simply looked over at Dawn and Marica and raised her slim, blond eyebrows.

Of course, thought Lily, the girl followed her around everywhere, she had probably heard them talking about her birthday sometime during the last week.

"I see," said Lily. "It doesn't matter anyway. Don't think this means anything, by the way, about you and me. He was giving our house a bad name. I would have done it for anyone. He needed a serious attitude adjustment."

Cassiopeia smirked slightly. _I couldn't have said it better myself_, she thought.

**AN: As always, review if you feel so inclined, I greatly appreciate it. Though I understand that it's not going to be as popular as say my Severus&Harry sickfics or my Albus/Scorpius fic, simply because of the level of interest in those characters vs Lily L. P. and an OC as the main characters. Thank you to everyone who reviews, and everyone who reads. I post for your enjoyment. :) **

**-SQ**


	6. Chapter 6: The Way It Was

**AN: A little shorter than usual, it just felt like the end of the chapter and I wanted to update.**

**Disclaimer: This story is mine, but Harry Potter isn't.**

**Chapter Six: The Way It Was**

The story of what happened between Lily, Cassiopeia, and Belinski, blown typically out of proportion, had gone all around the school by the next morning. Lily, who had never liked to draw attention to herself like her brothers did, was annoyed by the big deal everyone was making out of the thing. It was all the more interesting, apparently, because she and Cassiopeia were rarely, if ever, the center of attention.

Given the rumors that were flying around, which included everything from her knocking the first year boy out cold when he had talked back to her to both her and Cassiopeia being beaten black and blue but ultimately coming out victorious in a fight where they were outnumbered two to one, Lily wasn't unduly surprised when the headmaster called her into his office two days later.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Vector?" she said when she had knocked and the headmaster had bade her to enter.

"Yes," said Professor Vector, folding up his newspaper very precisely and then gazing at her over the top of his small, round spectacles. "For some reason I can't seem to get a clear account of what happened down by the lake with yourself, Miss Malfoy, and Mr. Belinksi. I wondered if you could possibly illuminate me."

"Belinksi was bullying Lit—Malfoy," said Lily, catching the nickname before it slipped out. "It wasn't the first time. He wouldn't leave her alone and then he ruined the daisy weaving she had worked really hard on, so she hit him." She didn't mention that the daisies were supposed to be for her. "He deserved it," she said bluntly. "And she didn't really hit him that hard. But he cried like a baby and tried to beat her up. He's a lot bigger than her, so I stopped him. I didn't hit him or anything, just grabbed his wrist and told him to leave off. That's all there is to it."

Professor Vector regarded her over his spectacles. "Who can verify this?"

"My friends Dawn Hartly and Marica Prewet were there," said Lily. "They saw it."

"You realize, of course," said Professor Vector sternly, "that if I find you to have done anything to Mr. Belinksi that would be a third year attacking a first year."

"I didn't attack him," said Lily. "I hardly _touched_ him."

"Miss Malfoy did, however," said Professor Vector. "Hitting another student is against school rules."

"He's lucky she didn't hex him," said Lily. "Belinksi deserves to be punished. Not me, and not Malfoy either."

"We shall see," was all that Professor Vector, always infuriatingly slow, fair, and rule-abiding, would say.

*****BWST*****

There were others in the castle, however, who were not content to wait for the headmaster to examine the case from every angle and come to a conclusion. Lily was heading down to the Great Hall for lunch with the rest of the students when there was suddenly commotion behind her. Turning, she saw Belinksi standing in the middle of the corridor, confronted by Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter.

Scorpius twirled his wand in his long, slender fingers as he stared down at Belinski and then let it lazily come to rest so that it was pointing at the younger boy's chest. His eyes narrowed into slits. Albus stood at his shoulder, wand also pointing at Belinski.

Lily saw Hugo step hurriedly out behind them, holding his wand awkwardly in imitation of the older boys.

Scorpius approached the first year and then bend down until they were nose.

"You. Better. Be. Damn. Glad. You're. Only. A. Kid," he breathed softly. "But. If. You. Ever. Touch. My. Sister. Again. I. Don't. Care. How. Old. You. Are. I. Will. Hex. You. Six. Ways. To. Sunday."

Belinski's eyes went wide, but the two boys weren't finished yet.

Albus stepped up beside Scorpius.

"Just for the record, _Belinski_," he said coolly. "If you think my sister's tough to deal with, she's got nothing on me. Capiche?"

"Ka-ka-ka-yeah—" stuttered Belinski, a wet stain appearing in the crotch of his robes.

"Good," said Scorpius in a businesslike manner. "Now that we've got that settled, on to lunch!" And he and Albus set off jauntily down the corridor, followed by Hugo and a whole procession of admirers.

Lily, Dawn, and Marica watched them walk away and then watched the mortified Belinski bolt toward the nearest bathroom.

"Wow," said Rose, coming up beside them. "That was—something."

"You're not going to get them in trouble?" said Lily.

Rose raised her eyebrows innocently. "Who? Me? I didn't see anything." And she walked off down the staircase toward the Great Hall.

Lily didn't know what to think. On the one hand, Albus and Scorpius's antics had, as always, been way over the top. On the other hand, that Belinksi kid was a bully. And they hadn't hurt him really, just scared him a bit... she herself had said he needed an attitude adjustment.

She glanced sideways at Cassiopeia. The younger girl's round eyes were open in shock and admiration. She tucked a lock of pale hair behind her ear.

"Well," she said softly, almost to herself. "I don't think he'll be bothering me anymore."

"That's for sure," agreed Lily, and she set off for lunch with Dawn and Marica, Cassiopeia trailing lightly behind them.

*****BWST*****

Albus and Scorpius were, of course, given a week's worth of detentions for terrorizing a first year. This didn't make much of anyone think badly about them; in fact, it would have made them even more popular, if that had been at all possible. As it was, they seemed to think that a week of detentions was a small price to pay for putting Belinski in his place, and carried themselves like kings around the school. Though many shouted about the unfairness of their punishment, Lily felt that it was perfectly justified; what they had done was clearly against school rules, and any fifteen year old who threatened an eleven year old deserved to be punished. But... There were some things, thought Lily, that were worth being punished for, and she felt no pity for Belinski. Not that she appreciated the increase in Albus's and Scorpius's royal attitudes either.

As for Cassiopeia, since the "Belinski Incident" as people began to refer to it, her admiration for Lily had grown. She had away looked up to and been drawn to the older girl, but now she looked on her almost like she did on Scorpius, with a feeling only a step or two down from adoration. And yet, how she felt about Lily wasn't exactly the way she felt about Scorpius either. Though they had their share of disagreements, she loved her brother dearly, and admired him immensely, but she knew that she always had to take him with a grain of salt, and, well, he was a _brother_. With Lily the grain of salt still applied, as it generally did to everyone, but Lily's grain of salt was somewhat different. And Lily was, not exactly like a sister per say, but she was a girl. Close enough to Cassiopeia's own age to be a friend, sufficiently older than her to be a kind of role model.

There was another change that came from the "Belinski Incident". Nothing tangible, nothing that anyone could quite put their finger on, but just a change in feeling, in atmosphere as it were. Though outwardly the relationship, or lack there of, between Lily Potter and Cassiopeia Malfoy had not changed one iota, somehow things felt more...comfortable between them. Before there had always been this kind of awkward chasm between them, and no matter how hard she tried, Cassiopeia had been unable to bridge it. Now she no longer felt the need to try, because the tension simply wasn't there anymore. Lily still ignored Cassiopeia, and Cassiopeia still followed her around like an extra shadow, but it was a natural silence, a mutual agreement.

With the acceptance of the situation by the two parties in question, came acceptance from Dawn and Marica and then the rest of the school at large. Albus and Scorpius were no longer much involved, other students stopped shooting them strange looks and whispering behind their hands. This, just like the many other eccentricities of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was just the way it was.

Strangely, the only one who seemed to be bothered by it now was River Thurshall.

"Why do you let her follow you around like that?" he said, glancing back at Cassiopeia as he fell into step beside Lily in the corridor.

Lily shrugged. "What can I do about it? I tried to get rid of her. It didn't work. It's not like she's hurting anyone."

"It's creepy," said River, rubbing his arms exaggeratedly. "She looks like a ghost."

"I take offense at that," commented Nearly Headless Nick, drifting past them in the opposite direction.

River lowered his voice, "Lily's she's—she's _stalking _you."

"River, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," said Lily, laughing. "Stalking me indeed. She's twelve!"

"But she's always there! You're never alone!" protested River.

"When is anyone ever alone at Hogwarts?" said Lily. "Besides, it's not like she invades my privacy or anything."

"What if you want to be alone with someone else, though?" said River.

"Well, I don't know," said Lily. "I supposed I'd lower my voice or go to my dormitory or ask her to leave for a while. It's never really been an issue. She has no friends to blab to, and she goes away if I tell her to."

River looked less than satisfied with this answer. "What if someone else wants to be alone with _you_?"

Lily gave him a strange look. "What are you going on about, River? Any of my friends or family can talk to me whenever they want." She glanced at her watch. "We're going to be late to class if we don't hurry. Bye, River!"

*****BWST*****

It was the last Hogsmeade weekend of term, and Lily, Dawn, and Marica were planning on spending it shopping in the village. The sun was shining warmly down on the castle when they left in the morning, promising a positively beautiful day ahead.

"Where should we go first?" asked Lily when they were standing at the entrance to the village.

"Honeydukes!" said Dawn immediately, licking her lips. "I'm all out of fizzing whizzbees!" She said it as if it were the worst tragedy in the world.

Lily and Marica laughed.

"Okay," said Marica, "we can go there, provided we go to the Three Broomsticks for lunch."

"Of course!" said Dawn. "Where else would we go?"

"We could go to the Hogshead," suggested Hugo, coming up behind them.

"The Hogshead?" said Lily. "That dingy little pub back at the end of the lane?"

"Uh huh," said Hugo, looking eager. "Albus and Scorpius go there all the time."

Lily scowled. "Why would we want to go there?"

"It is less crowded," pointed out Marica. "And we've never been."

"Dawn?" Hugo appealed.

"Isn't it run by that creepy old man?"

"He's not a creepy old man!" said Marica indignantly. "He's Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore's younger brother."

"Is he still alive?" said Lily in surprise.

"Yep," said Hugo. "So, you wanna go?"

"No," said Lily as Dawn said, "Yes."

Lily looked around at the rest of them. "Okay, fine. I see I'm outnumbered. We'll have lunch at the Hogshead. But let's go to Honeydukes first, okay?"

The other three agreed, and so the four third years headed off to the sweet shop.

When Lily and Marica had selected a few choice items and Dawn had loaded herself down with as much candy as she could carry, with Hugo not far behind, they paid for their purchases and stepped once again into the brilliant sunshine.

"What now?" said Marica, tucking her bag into her pocket.

"I'm hungry," said Dawn. "Let's head over to the Hogshead."

"Alright," said Marica and Hugo, and they set off in the direction of the pub, Lily trailing reluctantly behind them.

"Oh!" said Hugo, stopping so suddenly that Lily nearly crashed into him. "Let's go into Zonko's for a minute."

Lily looked through the joke shop window and immediately saw the reason for Hugo's sudden wish to go inside. Albus and Scorpius were standing at a shelf near the front, examining the various joke items on display.

Grumbling, Lily followed her cousin and friends through the door, which chuckled as they walked through it, alerting the clerk to their presence.

"Pathetic," Albus was saying to Scorpius, turning a firework over in his hand.

"Shoddy workmanship," agreed Scorpius.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes makes much better ones."

"Definitely," chimed in Hugo.

Albus and Scorpius turned their heads.

"Oh, hey Hugh," they said absently, before turning back to the fireworks.

Hugo beamed.

A minute later the two older boys left the joke shop, Hugo trailing behind them and Lily, Dawn, and Marica following him out.

"Hey," said Hugo, running a little to catch up with Albus and Scorpius, "you going to the Hogshead?"

"Nah," said Al. "Already been today."

"Oh." Hugo's face fell slightly. "Well...see you later then."

"Yeah, see you around, kid," said Scorpius.

Lily shook her head. _How can he let them treat him like a little kid like that? It'd drive me mental. It _does_ drive me mental._

"Fooooooood," said Dawn, leaning against the side of the building and clutching her stomach in false agony. "Dawn need foooooood!"

"Come on, cave girl," said Marica, rolling her eyes and grabbing Dawn's arm. "Let's go get some food before you die of starvation."

"Or we all die of aggravation," added Lily jokingly.

Dawn stuck out her tongue at her.

"Well, you can't be too far gone if you can do that," commented Hugo.

Dawn hit him on the shoulder and the four of them chased each other all the way to the Hogshead.

They arrived out of breath and panting, laughing their heads off at nothing in particular, and in an all around better mood than they had been when they had left Zonko's. They were all definitely hungry by now though.

"Let's go in," said Hugo. "I'm starved."

"Foooooood!" said, Dawn, earning her a whack from Lily as they approached the door.

The building was old and rather dilapidated. The sign swung creakily in the soft breeze, and the paint around the windows was faded and peeling.

"Erm—" said Marica, "shall we go in?"

"Er—okay, yeah, sure," agreed the others, and they hesitantly stepped through the doorway into the musty, dimly lit room.

Lily looked around. No one, customer or bartender, was visible in the dilapidated pub.

"Er—hello?" called Hugo. "Anyone here?"

"Maybe we should go—" started Lily, but then an impossibly old, wizened man came hobbling through a door at the back of the pub.

"Customers," he said, as though he were surprised to see them. "May I help you?" His voice sounded as disused as his pub.

"Er—yeah," said Lily, speaking up, since none of the others seemed inclined to. "We'd each like a butterbeer and..."

"And some lunch," said Hugo, finding his voice. "Whatever you have."

"I'll see what I can do," croaked the man dubiously. He ambled slowly to the bar and began pouring their drinks into dusty looking mugs.

"Here you are," he said, handing them the drinks.

"And—er—some lunch?" ventured Marica.

"Oh yes, lunch," said the man, and slowly disappeared into the back.

"Oka-a-ay," said Dawn, eying her butterbeer suspiciously and then taking a small sip. "That was—odd."

"He seems nice enough," said Marica. "Just—strange."

"Very strange," said Lily.

"Interesting, though," added Hugo.

"No argument there," said Dawn.

The four sat sipping their butterbeers in silence for what felt like ages. Somehow the atmosphere in the pub was not particularly conducive to chatter, and they were highly conscious of Aberforth Dumbledore the bartender somewhere in the back. The man may have been going deaf, but then again, he may not have been.

Finally, once each of them had drained their butterbeers down to the last drop, Aberforth reappeared, bearing a tray with four bowls balanced precariously on it. The bowls turned out to contain a watery, lukewarm soup with bits of turnip and some sort of rather tough meat in it. It wasn't bad exactly, but it wasn't what they would call a particularly satisfying meal.

As they were getting up to pay, the door to the pub creaked open and another customer entered. The person, they couldn't tell if it was a woman or a man, was hunched over and walked with a pronounced limp. This person was followed by another person, wrapped completely in a dark traveling cloak, and clutching a greasy looking package.

"Er—let's go," said Lily nervously, placing her Galleons on the counter and urging the other three toward the door.

They needed very little encouragement, and were soon standing in the street outside, surprised to see that dusk had already fallen.

"We'd better get back to the castle," said Marica, "before we get in trouble for being out too late."

The four of them hurried back through the darkening streets and managed to make it in time to attach themselves to the very end of the line of students making their way back into Hogwarts.

"So," said Hugo as they passed by the caretaker, "you thinking about going back?"

"No," said Lily definitely. "Are you?"

"Yeah," said Hugo, looking excited. "Maybe I can go with Albus and Scorpius. It's kind of cool, don't you think?"

"Whatever you say, Hugo," said Lily, shaking her head at Slytherin taste. "Whatever you say."

**AN: Hope you liked it. Reviews are never too late :)**

**-SQ**


	7. And So Ends First Year And So Ends Third

**Disclaimer: The fact that this is fanfiction rather implies that I don't actually own Harry Potter, don't you think?**

**Chapter Seven: And So Ends First Year, And So Ends Third Year**

Unfortunately, the last Hogsmeade weekend of term was followed by the presence of the end of term exams looming on the horizon.

"I'm never going to pass Astronomy," said Dawn gloomily, listlessly thumbing through the pages of her textbook. Maybe I should just drop it."

"You can't drop Astronomy," said Marica. "It's required. And you certainly won't pass it that way." She reached over and opened Dawn's book to the correct page.

Lily scanned her History of Magic textbook, trying hard to memorize the list of dates at the end of the chapter.

"If only there was an easier way to remember all these numbers!" she said in frustration.

"In primary school we always used to remember things by singing songs and making up rhymes about them," said Dawn. She proceeded to chant in a singsong voice, "i before e, except after c, and when sounding like a, as in neighbor and weigh."

Lily and Marica gave her a baffled look. "Huh?"

"Er—I guess it's a Muggle thing," she said, shrugging.

"She has a point though, Lily," said Marica. "Maybe making up a rhyme would help you remember all the dates."

"What?" said Lily. "Like 'In 1750 Clause 73* controlled the beasties?'"

All three girls burst out laughing.

"Was that supposed to to be a mnemonic device?" said Rose, coming up behind them.

"Huh?" said Lily, Dawn, and Marica. "A what?"

"A mnemonic device," said Rose. "A type of mind memory or learning aid. Though I have to say that wasn't a very good one."

"Well, I've never made one up before," said Lily defensively. "I've never even heard of them before."

"How's studying for your O. going, Rose?" asked Marica.

"There's not enough time!" wailed Rose. "There's so much to review and I don't know what's going to be on them at all! What if they ask something from first year and I can't remember the wording?"

Even Albus and Scorpius, who were also taking their O. that year, could be seen studying occasionally, which, from Lily's point of view, was a good thing, since it cut down on their prank and show-off time.

*****BWST*****

Three days before the start of exam week, Lily was sitting in the common room working on the review packet that Professor Verma had given them for Transfiguration. Marica was at the last Wizard's Chess Club meeting of the year, and Dawn was in detention for not paying attention during Herbology and letting her Velarose Vine wrap itself all around her chair and desk before she noticed.. Rose was there, but she was so engrossed in her own work that she hardly seemed aware of Lily's presence.

Curled up in her usual chair a few seats over from Lily was Cassiopeia. Currently, the small first year was glaring heatedly at her Potions homework, which she could not manage to make head nor tails of. Despite her father's high marks in the subject while he was at school, and her brother's general enjoyment of the class, Potions was by far Cassiopeia's worst subject. While she found no great challenge in most of the wand work that they did in Charms and Transfiguration, could follow the directions in Herbology with relative ease, learned quite quickly in Defense Against the Dark Arts, was fascinated by the constellations and planets during Astronomy, and was even decently adept at gleaning information from Professor Binns's History of Magic class, she became confused and frustrated whenever she was presented with a cauldron and a list of ingredients.

"Stupid Potions," she muttered angrily, jabbing her wand at the parchment and causing it to fly up and hit Lily in the back of the head.

The older girl jumped and whirled around.

"Oops, sorry," said Cassiopeia. "Guess I probably shouldn't jab my wand arbitrarily at my homework..."

"Guess not," said Lily, raising and eyebrow. "Why are you jabbing your wand at it?"

"Because it's stupid Potions," said Cassiopeia resentfully.

Lily's other eyebrow shot up. "Potions is not stupid,' she informed the younger girl. "Potions is fascinating."

"It's not, it's—wait," said Cassiopeia, "you actually like Potions?"

"Of course. It's my favorite subject."

"Could you—er—that is—" Cassiopeia bit her lip.

"Spit it out, Little Malfoy, I haven't got all day."

"D'you-think-you-might-be-able-to-explain-it-better-than-the-book-can?" said Cassiopeia in a rush.

Lily twirled her hair around her finger. "I don't know about better, but I can try to explain it to you if you want," she said, getting up and leaning eagerly over the younger girl's work. She loved Potions.

Two hours later Cassiopeia looked up with an expression of relief. "Is _that_ what this is about? Why didn't it just _say_ so?"

"It _did_," said Lily.

"Yeah, well, you said it better."

Lily shrugged. "My dad says my grandmother was a natural at Potions, I guess I inherited her skill."

"My dad was good at potions too," said Cassiopeia. "But no such luck for me."

"Mmmm," said Lily absently, suddenly aware that she'd spent the last two hours taking to Cassiopeia Malfoy of all people. She glanced around, but everyone else in the common room seemed too caught up in their own studying to pay her any mind. "I'd better get back to my own work."

"Okay," said Cassiopeia, smiling a little. "Thank you for the help," she added softly.

"Er—it was nothing," said Lily, returning to the table where her homework and review material were laid out.

*****BWST*****

And then, all too soon, it was the first day of exam week.

Lily's first exam was Charms, which she was reasonably confident in, followed by Transfiguration, which she was sure she scored well on.

Cassiopeia's first exam was in Defense Against the Dark Arts and her second in Herbology. Both exams were fairly easy in her opinion, and since she had studied she wasn't at all worried about her marks.

After the exams, the Gryffindors, and the members of the other houses as well, retired back to their common room to do some last minute cramming for the next day of exams.

*****BWST*****

Lily sat up and stretched out her back, which was stiff from all the time she had spent hunching over her notes.

"This is pointless," she said

"Sorry?" said Dawn, jolting out of the stupor she had fallen into.

"I said this is pointless," said Lily. "We're not going to learn anything new by tomorrow morning. We might as well just go to bed and get a good night's rest."

"I agree," said Marica, flipping her Defense Against the Dart Arts textbook shut.

The three girls packed up their things and went up to bed. Cassiopeia, curled up in her usual chair with her legs tucked under her, followed suit. The thought Lily had voiced had occurred to her some time ago, and rather than studying, she had been reading a book she had checked out from the library. After all, the only test she had the next day was Charms, and that really shouldn't be too difficult.

*****BWST*****

Wednesday, the third day of exam week, was Cassiopeia's hard day. It started off with History of Magic, which was okay, though not Cassiopeia's best subject, and ended with Potions. As Cassiopeia walked into the Potions classroom and took her seat, she swallowed nervously. Her father's expectations of her were very high, and it wouldn't do at all to fail, or even barely pass, an exam during her first year. She had gotten decent marks in the class for the first term, but the work had become harder in second term, and she had been struggling. Hoping that Lily's brief tutoring session would pay off, Cassiopeia took a deep breath and started her exam.

*****BWST*****

Meanwhile, Lily was having the easiest exam day ever. First was Potions, both her favorite and best subject. Lily's other exam that day happened to be Care of Magical Creatures. Taught by Professor Hagrid, Hogwarts Gamekeeper and Potter family friend, it was an...interesting class, but not particularly difficult. She finished both tests with time to spare.

*****BWST*****

Back in the Potions classroom, Cassiopeia was amazed to realize that what she was being asked to do actually made sense. Sure, she knew she wasn't doing it perfectly, but she wasn't going into a confusion and frustration induced panic attack either. By the time the exam was over she was confident she had done at least a semi-decent job.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia returned to the Gryffindor common room at the same time. Cassiopeia was feeling much relieved; her most difficult exams were over, and all she had left were Transfiguration and Astronomy.

Lily, on the other hand, was facing a difficult Thursday. She returned to the common room and immediately pulled out her Arithmancy notes. As River had warned her at the beginning of the year, the class was very challenging, and it kept her on her toes. She also was going to have her Astronomy exam the next evening, and trying to make out different shapes and positions in the sky made her head hurt.

*****BWST*****

At long last, it was time for the final exam of the year before they were free for the summer holidays. Since Cassiopeia's last exam, Transfiguration, was the only one she had on Friday, and it wasn't until after lunch, she had slept in and then, predictably, met Lily outside of the History of Magic classroom when she had finished her exam and went down to lunch with her, Dawn, and Marica.

After lunch, while Cassiopeia made her way to Transfiguration, Lily and Dawn headed off to Muggle Studies and Marica proceeded to Ancient Runes. Muggle studies wasn't too much of a struggle for either Lily nor Dawn, not when Lily's father was raised by Muggles, her Aunt Hermione was Muggleborn, and her Granddad Weasley was obsessed with all things Muggle and Dawn was a Muggleborn.

*****BWST*****

"Why do you two even take that class?" asked Marica as they walked down to dinner after the exam.

"Easy O," said Dawn with a shrug.

"It's interesting," said Lily. "And easy," she amended with a laugh. "Balances out Arithmancy."

"I like Arithmancy," said Marica.

"So do I!" said Lily. "But it is hard."

It was with an air of merry relief that the Hogwarts students arrived in the Great Hall for the end of term feast. Exams were over, summer holidays were about to begin, and everyone was looking forward to the end of term feast.

The menu did not disappoint. There were steak-and-kidney pies and mice pies and beef pies and chicken pies and five different kinds of casseroles, as well as beans and potatoes and carrots and peas and all manner of puddings.

"Mmmmm!" said Dawn, heaping her plate with everything within her reach. "This is the best end-of-year feast ever!"

"You said that last year!" said Marica with a laugh.

"But this one is even better!" protested Dawn.

As the girls ate their dinner, happily enjoying their last evening together before the end of term, Lily couldn't help noticing Cassiopeia, who sat next to her at the table. While she took a little bit of almost everything, it was such a very little bit that she still ended up eating like a bird.

Cassiopeia, meanwhile, was feeling content just to sit there and listen to the older girls' conversation. She had completed her first year at Hogwarts, and it had been every bit as good as she had hoped and not nearly as intimidating as she had feared.

Once they had filled themselves with as much food as possible the golden plates magically cleared themselves and then refilled with an impressive spread of desserts: ice cream, cakes, pies, tarts, and several varieties of custard.

"Ooooooh," moaned Dawn when the deserts had too been cleared away, patting her stomach. "I'm _stuffed_!"

"You shouldn't eat so much, Dawn," admonished Marica. "Will you ever learn?"

"No," said Lily. "Probably not."

"I'd hit you if I weren't so full," said Dawn, sticking her tongue out at Lily.

Lily just laughed and made a face at her.

"Meanie," complained Dawn.

"If I may have your attention," said Professor Vector, standing up from his place at the staff table and addressing the Hall. "It is time for bed. Make sure your things are packed and you're ready to go by ten tomorrow morning. You wouldn't want to miss the train. I suggest you check underneath your beds for any stray articles of clothing or personal items. Now, goodnight to all."

The Headmaster waved his hands in dismissal and the students rose as one and made their way through the doors into the entrance hall.

"Are you all packed yet, Dawn?" asked Lily as the three friends, their other dorm-mates, and Cassiopeia ducked through the portrait hole. She knew her friend most likely wasn't.

"Er—not completely," said Dawn.

"I am," said Marica proudly, earning her a smack from both Lily and Dawn.

"I was just saying!" she protested.

"I still have a few things to pack myself," said Lily. "Not too many thought."

The six third years plus Cassiopeia started up the staircase to the girls' dormitory, when they reached the first year landing, Cassiopeia turned off the steps to her dormitory.

"Goodnight, Lily," she said softy, as she did every night.

Lily turned part of the way around to glance at the younger girl.

"Er—'night Little Malfoy," she said before continuing up to her own dormitory with Marica, Dawn, Brandi, Tamzen, and Paloma.

"Dawn!" said Paloma, opening the door and glancing around the dormitory. "I thought you said you were not completely packed, not that you were completely not packed!"

"Er—hehe?" said Dawn.

The other girls just shook their heads.

"Dawn, is this your book?" said Tamzen several minutes later as she cleared the remaining things off of her bed.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," said Dawn.

"Dawn," said Marica, raising her eyebrows, "I believe this is yours as well."

"Oh—er—yeah," said Dawn sheepishly, taking the t-shirt from Marica's hands and throwing it down into her trunk.

"Dawn!" said Brandi, "aren't you going to organize your things at all?"

"Nope," said Dawn cheerfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh Dawn," she said, amused. "You _are_ hopeless."

"Oh come on, Lily," said Dawn, "your stuff's not much better than mine!"

"She's right you know," said Marica.

"Don't leave your Potions kit under your bed again," added Tamzen.

"Hey! I only did that _once_!" said Lily. "And it was only for the Christmas holidays, not summer!"

"Pack!" said Paloma, throwing a balled-up pair of socks at her squabbling roommates.

*****BWST*****

It hadn't taken Cassiopeia much time at all to pack all of her things neatly back into her trunk. Organization had been instilled in her almost since birth, and unlike Scorpius she had taken to it naturally. Once everything was put away except for what she would need the next morning she pulled out her book, intending to read for a few minutes before she went to sleep.

*****BWST*****

"Come _on_!" Lily called up the stairs to her two best friends. "We're going to be late for breakfast! You are so _slow_!"

Sighing in exasperation, she leaned against the wall by the staircase and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Still packing?"

Lily looked up and saw Cassiopeia leaning against the opposite wall. _Why am I even surprised?_ She thought.

"They shouldn't be," she answered, since it would have been awkward not to. "We all finished packing last night."

Dawn and Marica came clattering down the stairs.

"It's about time," said Lily, folding her arms.

"Oh relax, Lily," said Dawn.

"If I miss breakfast I'm blaming you," said Lily as she headed out of the portrait hole, Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia right behind her.

*****BWST*****

After breakfast the students all climbed into the horseless carriages and rode down to Hogsmeade Station to board the Hogwarts Express. Lily, Dawn, and Marica chose a compartment near the front of the train. Cassiopeia settled herself into the booth across from theirs and pulled out her book. Soon they were joined by Rose and Hugo.

"Are Ravenclaws allowed?" said River, sticking his head into the compartment. "Or is this a Gryffindors only party?"

"Hugo's not a Gryffindor," Lily pointed out.

"That means come on in," translated Rose.

River laughed and slid into the seat beside Lily.

"So, what do you have planned for the holidays?" he asked Lily.

"Nothing much," she replied with a shrug. "Family, hanging out, the usual. I've got tickets to the Breathless Banshees concert though," she added with a grin.

"Cool," said River. "Who're you going with?"

"Well, my mum and dad got me three tickets for Christmas, so we're taking Dawn and Marica with us."

Marica grinned too and Dawn bounced up and down in her seat.

"It's gonna be awesome," said Marica.

"Andy Hoarman..." said Dawn dreamily.

"Oh please," said Rose, rolling her eyes. "I don't know what you see in him."

"He's hot!" said Dawn.

"He's too rough," said Rose. "And he's got holes in all his clothes."

"It's a _style_ Rose," said Dawn.

"Well, it's a bad one," Rose declared. "I prefer a guy with more...class. Someone suave and—handsome. Besides, he's too dark. I prefer blonds."

"Rose Weasley," said Hugo, "the brainiac, bookworm, and hopeless romantic."

"Shut it," said Rose, hitting her brother on the head with her book.

"Ow," complained Hugo. "Abuse!"

*****BWST*****

By the time the witch arrived with the food cart they were all sufficiently hungry to buy a great pile of treats consisting of some of everything.

Glancing over at Cassiopeia's booth, Lily saw that the younger girl had apparently fallen asleep over her book. Her cheek was pillowed on the open volume, her white-blond hair framing her thin, pale face.

"Er—Little Malfoy's asleep," said Lily hesitantly. "Should we wake you d'you think?"

"Yeah," said Hugo at once, before River could open his mouth to disagree. "What if she's hungry?"

"I suppose you're right," said Lily, standing up and crossing over to the small girl.

"Little Malfoy," she said, touching the other girl's shoulder. "Little Malfoy, the food cart is here."

Cassiopeia blinked her eyes sleepily and raised her head.

"Did I fall asleep?" she said.

"Yes," said Lily.

"Oh, I shouldn't have stayed up so late reading I guess... Are we there?"

"No, but the the food cart is here if you want to buy anything."

"Oh, thanks Lily," said Cassiopeia, sitting up and looking toward the cart. "I'll have two cauldron cakes, two pumpkin pasties and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Knowing how little Cassiopeia usually ate, Lily raised her eyebrows at the younger girl.

"I _like_ sweets," said Cassiopeia defensively. "And so do you, it looks like," she added, motioning to the pile of treats on the other table.

"I didn't say anything," said Lily. "And we're sharing those," she added as she went to sit down beside River again.

Dusk was beginning to fall when the Hogwarts Express pulled into platform 9 ¾. Lily, Dawn, Marica, Rose, Hugo, River, and Cassiopeia, who had already changed out of their robes and into Muggle clothes, pulled their trunks down from the overhead racks and lugged them to the doors of the train just as they were opening.

Cassiopeia was so small that she could barely manage to pull her trunk to the door. Sighing, Lily wordlessly grabbed the end of it and helped the recently-first-year lift it off the train and onto the platform.

"Thanks, Lily," said Cassiopeia.

"You're welcome," said Lily.

A medium-height, curvaceous brunette and a tall, slim blond stepped off the train from the next door down. They were Prairie Thurshall, River's older sister, and Dominique Weasley, Lily's cousin, both soon-to-be seventh years.

"River!" called the brunette, running a hand over her short, spiky brown hair. "Let's go! I'm taking you home and I want to leave."

"Just a minute, P!" called River. "Hey, Lily," he said, turning back to her, "write me over the summer, okay? I'd love to see you sometime."

"Okay," said Lily. "Sure."

"Well, bye then," said River, giving her a quick one armed hug.

"Bye," said Lily, returning the gesture with some surprise. River wasn't usually the huggy type.

"Remember to write!" called River as he followed his sister the the edge of the platform.

"I will," she promised.

"He _so_ likes you," said Rose, watching the former fourth year disappear through the barrier.

"He does _not_!" said Lily. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Maybe because it's true," said Marica.

Lily whacked her.

"Hey, unnecessary!"

"So necessary," said Lily.

"Hey, I see my mum," said Dawn, pointing toward a woman standing slightly apart from the many witches and wizards on the platform. "I'd better go."

"Me too," said Marica.

"See you soon!" yelled Lily as her friends started away.

"Yeah," said Marica, "at the Breathless Banshees concert!"

"Yes!" cried Dawn, punching the air.

Lily then saw Albus step off the train accompanied, as always, by Scorpius Malfoy.

"So, I'll write to you, okay?" Albus was saying. "And we'll get together sometime over the summer."

"Definitely," said Scorpius, a wicked gleam in his eye. "We've got some planning to do, got to make our sixth year epic!"

"Not _too_ epic, though," said Albus, "we don't want to run out of ideas before seventh year."

"Oh, I'll never run out of ideas," said Scorpius airily.

"We could always drop out like my Uncle George and Fred did," said Albus.

"Definitely not," said Ginny, who was standing nearby, very sternly.

"_Mum!_ Don't listen to our conversation!"

"Don't have your conversation where I can hear you," said Ginny.

"See you soon, Al," said Scorpius. "Come on Cassie."

Cassiopeia turned to look at Lily. The redhead looked back at her.

"Well, bye then, Lily," she said softly and a little sadly. "See you next year." Cassiopeia was going to miss her new friend. She was happy to be going home and spending time with her family, but she'd never met someone like Lily before; she'd never had a real friend before.

"Yeah," said Lily, watching Scorpius Malfoy motion his sister on, "See you."

"Bye Scorpius!" called Hugo.

Scorpius glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, bye Hugh."

"Let's go, Lily," said Hugo, prodding her in the back. "Everyone else is already over there."

Lily and Hugo ran over to their family.

"There you are," said Ron. "How's my little Snake?"

When Hugo had first been sorted into Slytherin Uncle Ron had been shocked and dismayed. He couldn't understand how _his_ son could possibly be in Slytherin. Luckily, his nephew Albus had been sorted into Slytherin two years before, and Ron had calmed down after getting over the initial shock of the news (and talking to Harry) and had become used to the idea. Now he just liked to tease his son about being in Slytherin, something Hugo never minded since he knew his dad wasn't serious. Lily knew that Hugo was proud of being in Slytherin and wouldn't change his House for the world.

"I'm fine, Dad," said Hugo, bumping fists with his dad in a way that made the rest of the surrounding Weasleys and Potters laugh.

"Come on," said Hugo's mother Hermione, "if we don't hurry we'll be the last ones on the platform."

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Bill, and Fleur led their children through the barrier into King's Cross Station, where the three branches of the family said their goodbyes and split up.

"Dad," said James, "is Teddy at the house now?"

"Nope," said Harry, "sorry son, he and Victoire have got their own place now, remember?"

"Ooooh," said Albus, making kissy noises.

"Oh, grow up, Al," said James.

"Oh, shut up, James," said Albus.

"_Boys,"_ said Ginny in a warning tone.

"I'm not a boy anymore!" said James indignantly. "I'm a man."

"Ha," said his father.

_Here we go_, thought Lily, caught between annoyance and amusement, _another summer in the Potter Household._

_*"Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards._"

—Clause 73, International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy

**AN: Sorry if the asterisk thing was confusing or reminded you of a textbook, I just didn't think many people would remember what Clause 73 was and the (rather bad) mnemonic device makes no sense if you don't know. Not that it really matters but...**


	8. Chapter 8: Over the Summer

**AN: ****The only thing I really had planned for summer was the concert, which wasn't enough, so I had to come up with some other stuff. Mostly it's basically a filler chapter (albeit a long one). Sorry for the kind of lame chapter title. It's not the most thrilling chapter ever. I do think it's kind of fun just to see what Lily gets up to over the summer, though. Next chapter will be back to Hogwarts and hopefully more interesting and plotful (yes, I know, not a real word. Too bad. :P ).**

**-SQ**

**Chapter Eight: Over the Summer**

The first week of summer at the Potter house was dedicated to relaxing. After the rigid schedule of school and the stress of exams, it was good just to be able to sleep in as late as you wanted, go to breakfast in your pajamas, and sit out in the yard eating ice cream. Of course, Harry and Ginny weren't on vacation, but James, Albus, and Lily were plenty old enough to stay home by themselves. James was put "in charge," but Albus laughed and rolled his eyes at that.

"I can hex you if you don't behave," James told him, shaking his wand at Albus in an imitation of their mother when she was angry.

"I'll use Lily as a shield!" said Albus, pushing Lily in front of him.

"You won't!'" said Lily, pulling herself away and ducking under his arm.

"Coward," said James, "using a little girl as protection."

Albus shrugged. "Slytherin," he said with a jaunty grin.

"And I'm not a little girl," said Lily. "I'm fourteen."

"Oh, wow, _ancient_," said Albus.

"Oh, shut up," said Lily, tossing her dark red hair over her shoulder and flouncing off up the staircase.

"Want to play Quidditch?" James shouted up after her.

"What do you think?" she retorted, not breaking stride.

"How can you not like Quidditch?" said Al.

"How can you not like using your head once in a while?" replied Lily.

"Come on," said James. "Leave her alone. We can play by ourselves."

"Great lot of fun that'll be," Albus grumbled.

"Oh stop whining," said James.

*****BWST*****

Lily sat down on her bed and pulled out a book. Soon the sounds of her brothers playing Quidditch floated through her open window, making it impossible to concentrate. Lily had never much cared for Quidditch. It was fine enough to watch, even decently interesting, she supposed, when it was her school's teams, but it didn't excite her like it did Albus and James and her parents and Uncle Ron.

Lily laid her book aside and rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was barely a week into summer and already Lily was starting to get lonely, what was wrong with her? Usually she liked her alone time, and it wasn't like she didn't have her brothers for company, but there was only so much you could do with a pair of older brothers or by yourself. She wished she could Apparate like James could.

"Are you sure you don't want to play?" Albus yelled to her as he flew past her bedroom window.

"_Yes_, Al," she said. "For the thousandth time. I do not want to play Quidditch!

"Suit yourself!" said Albus, zooming away on his Firebolt 3000.

_Boys,_ thought Lily. _What does anyone see in them?_

*****BWST*****

_Dear Lily,_

_Hey, how's your summer going? Is your family driving you up the wall yet? Hehe, just kidding, I love your family. I'm glad I don't have so many relatives though. If you ever want a break from them send me an owl and we can go hang out somewhere together. Would next Wednesday work?_

_Your friend,_

_River_

_*****BWST*****_

_River,_

_My summer's going pretty well, not super busy, but nice, how about yours? Yeah, I have been spending a lot of time with my family, but I love them (usually). I'd love to do something on Wednesday. Marica, Brandi, Tamzen, Hugo, Hugo's friend Blake, and I are actually going to hang out on Wednesday though. (Dawn's at a Muggle summer camp and Paloma is visiting relatives in Spain). We're going to go shopping and have lunch and stuff. Maybe you could come with us? I think Tamzen might bring her boyfriend too, if she hasn't broken up with him by then, haha, and he's going to be a fifth year so you wouldn't be the only one. Tell me if you want to come._

_-Lily_

*****BWST*****

_Lily,_

_If you have other plans I don't want to intrude. Maybe just the two of us could get together another time?_

_-River_

*****BWST*****

_River,_

_Oh, no, you wouldn't be intruding at all. You should come, it'll be like a big party. We're going to meet at my house at 10 am since it's actually in the city. And then we'll walk to Burbank Corner, you know, the one that's like a mini Diagon Alley._

_-Lily_

*****BWST*****

_Lily,_

_Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow._

_-River_

*****BWST*****

_Lily,_

_So everything's set for tomorrow, right? Meeting at your house? I'll be there. Can't wait to see you!_

_-Marica_

*****BWST*****

_Lily,_

_See you at your house tomorrow, yes? It's number 12, Grimmauld place right? I'll be there at 10._

_-Brandi_

_P.S. Is your really hot cousin Fred coming?_

*****BWST*****

_Lily,_

_Grimmauld Place. 10 am. See you! I'll bring Blake. See if you can get Al to come._

_-Hugo_

*****BWST*****

_Lily,_

_Damian and I will meet you guys at Burbank Corner tomorrow, okay?_

_-Tamzen_

_*****_BWST_*****_

"Lily, someone's at the door!"

"Just a second, Mum!"

Lily grabbed her bag and then ran down the stairs.

"Coming!" she called toward the door. She put her bag down and opened it. "Hi, River."

"Hi, Lily," said River, smiling. "Nice place."

"Thanks," said Lily. "It's really old. Been in the Black family for generations."

"You're not Blacks, though," River pointed out.

"Yeah, well, no one is anymore, are they?" said Lily. "My dad's godfather Sirius left him the house when he died."

"Ah," said River.

"Lily," said Ginny, marching through from the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel, "invite your friend inside."

"Oh, yeah, of course. Come in, River," said Lily. "Marica, Brandi and Hugo and Blake'll be here any minute. Tamzen and her boyfriend Damian are meeting us at Burbank Corner."

"Do many of your friends have boyfriends?" asked River.

"No," said Lily. "Just Tamzen, and she has a new one every month practically."

"Have you ever thought about dating?"

"Me? Not really. I mean, eventually, yeah, but I'm only fourteen, there's no hurry, right? Oh, here's Brandi."

"Hey," said Brandi. "Wicked house! This was the headquarters for the second Order of the Phoenix, right?"

"Uh huh," said Lily, shrugging. "Apparently Mum and Dad had a hell of a time cleaning it up when they first moved here. There was some portrait of a lady who screamed all the time in the entrance hall and the house hadn't been cleaned in years."

There was knock at the door and Marica's face appeared at the window.

"Am I late?" she said anxiously when Lily opened the door.

"No, Hugo and Blake aren't here yet either," said Lily.

"What about Tamzen and Damian?"

"She said they'd meet us there."

"Typical Tamzen."

Suddenly there was a _poof!_ And Hugo and his friend Blake Zabini stepped out of the fireplace.

"Hi," said Hugo, dusting himself off. "This is Blake. Blake, this is my cousin Lily and her friends Marica, Brandi, and River."

"Hi," said Blake. He was tall and thin with long, shaggy brown hair that flopped into his eyes. He was the kind of guy who might be cute in a couple years, but right now just looked kind of dorky.

"Well, we're all here," said Lily. "Mum! Everyone's here! Can we go?"

Ginny came back out of the kitchen.

"Make sure you're back in time for dinner," she said.

"I know, Mum."

"...And only buy things they're selling in respectable shops..."

"I _know_, Mum."

"...And don't go anywhere besides Burbank Corner..."

"_I know, Mum!"_

"...And stay out of trouble and behave yourselves."

"_I KNOW, Mum!"_

"See you later then, Lily," said Ginny, and disappeared again.

"Is Al coming?" asked Hugo, looking around for Lily's brother.

"No," said Lily.

"Why not?"

"'Cause I didn't invite him."

"Why not!"

"Because," said Lily, "I wanted to hang out with my friends, not my brother. I've been hanging out with my brothers for almost two weeks now."

Hugo looked disappointed.

"How about your cousin Fred?" said Brandi.

"No," said Lily. "Fred's working."

"Aww," said Brandi.

"Why do you want to see him anyways?" said Lily.

"I told you, he's hot!"

"Brandi, Fred is _way_ too old for you," said Lily.

"So?" said Brandi. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

*****BWST*****

The group of friends spent as much time as they could at Burbank Corner, but since it consisted of only five shops, they soon exhausted its appeal. Since Ginny had made it very clear that they were not to go anywhere other than Burbank Corner, they began to make their way back to number 12, Grimmauld Place, stopping at a park a little ways away from the house to finish their massive ice cream cones.

"Lily," said River as he, Lily, Hugo, and Blake sat on the the edge of the merry-go-round and idly pushed it with their feet, "your ice cream's dripping." He cupped her hands in his own to keep the drops of melting ice cream from falling on her jeans.

"Oh, thanks, River," said Lily, picking up a napkin.

"There are some guys coming," said Marica, squinting across the park from her perch at the top of the slide.

"Are any of them hot?" Brandi wanted to know, pumping her legs harder in her swing so she could get high enough to see them.

"I dunno," said Marica, shrugging. "It's kinda hard to tell from this far away."

"The blond one's kinda cute," said Brandi from her swing.

"Guys, they're, like, twenty, and they're Muggles!"

"So? Looking never hurt anyone," said Brandi.

Lily just rolled her eyes.

*****BWST*****

A few days later Lily was sitting on her bed trying to work on some of her summer homework. She knew that Albus at least would leave his until the last minute, and so would Hugo and Dawn, but as she didn't really have anything better to do she thought she might as well get it started. But for some reason she couldn't concentrate; she kept looking over her shoulder every few minutes, as if she expected someone to be there, and she couldn't stop fidgeting and fussing. _What's wrong with me?_ She thought, sitting up on her bed and staring out of the window. Then she realized what had been bothering her: Cassiopeia Malfoy, or rather, the absence of said Malfoy. Lily had gotten so used to the little girl being there every time she looked up that she was actually starting to miss the kid. What the hell? She thought about sending a letter, but immediately dismissed the idea. Little Malfoy was alright in her own way, but she too clingy as it was, Lily certainly didn't want to encourage her.

*****BWST*****

"Mum?" said Albus, coming into the kitchen with a letter in his hand. "Can Scorp come over tomorrow?"

_Please say no, please say no,_ thought Lily.

"Sure," said Ginny, pouring orange juice into Harry's cup. "Would he Floo over?"

"Yeah," said Albus. "Around eleven."

"Your father and I won't be here, but James will," said Ginny. "So it's alright with me."

"Mum, Scorp and I can take care of ourselves!"

"I have my doubts about that," said Harry, "but regardless, I think your mother was thinking more along the lines of James is here to watch Lily."

"I don't need to be 'watched', Dad," said Lily. "I'm fourteen."

"Why?" demanded Harry jokingly. "Why can't you stay a little girl forever?"

"Do you really want to take care of a little kid for the rest of your life?" said Lily.

"No," Ginny answered for him. "Taking care of three teenagers is bad enough. Harry, you're going to be late, hurry up and eat your breakfast."

"I'm gonna go write Scorp and tell him he can come," said Albus.

"Eat your breakfast first," said Ginny. "And no," she added as Albus opened his mouth. "You may not take it up to your room, unless you want to clean up all the crumbs by hand."

Grumbling, Albus sat down at the table and began to eat his toast as fast as he could.

*****BWST*****

"Mum," Lily said that evening after dinner. "If Scorpius is coming over tomorrow I'm going to need some back-up."

Ginny laughed. "What did you have in mind?"

"I dunno, all of my friends are out of town. What's Rose doing?"

"Nothing that I know of," said Ginny. "But you should ask her, not me. You can use the Floo if you want."

"Okay, thanks Mum," said Lily.

She went over the the fireplace, knelt down in front of it, threw an handful of Floo Power into it, and said, "Weasley House!"

"Oh, hi Lily," said a voice once Lily's head had stopped spinning. "What's up?"

It was Hugo. Bugger. As much as she loved her cousin, she didn't want him over when Scorpius Malfoy was over, he would just follow Albus and Scorpius around all day.

"Er—I wanted to talk to Rose, actually, is she there?"

"Yeah, hold on a second," said Hugo. He walked to the doorway and bellowed. "Hey! Rose! Lily's in the fire for you!"

A moment later Rose appeared. "You needn't shout, Hugo," she admonished. "Would it kill you to walk up the stairs to get me like a civilized person?"

Hugo just shrugged, but then he made faces at Rose behind her back, imitating her telling him off.

Lily giggled.

Rose whirled around. "Hugo!"

"Bye!" said Hugo, skipping out of the room with a cheery wave.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" asked Rose.

"Well, Al's having Scorpius Malfoy over tomorrow," said Lily, making a face. "And I think I'll go crazy if I have to endure that alone. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah," said Rose. "I'd love to come over. Why don't you invite Louis, too? He's going to be home alone tomorrow, either that or have to go out with Domi and Tam."

Lily grimaced, Domi and her boyfriend Tam were even more sickening than Teddy and Victoire. "I'll invite him. He hates Scorpius a much as I do. Maybe if there are three of us and two of they'll leave us alone."

"Aw, come on, Lily, Scorpius isn't that bad."

"Hmph," said Lily. "He treats me like I'm about five. You try being younger than him."

Rose laughed. "We're about to eat dinner, Lil, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay? What time?"

"Scorpius is coming around eleven."

"Okay, I'll be there then."

"Sounds good."

"Remember to invite Louis."

"I'm not gonna forget Louis, Rose!"

"Okay, just making sure!"

"Bye, see you tomorrow."

*****BWST*****

The fireplace flared and both Lily and Albus looked up to see who it was. Rose had already arrived, punctual as ever, so it was either Scorpius or Louis.

Or both.

"Ouch!" said the two blonds as they landed in the fireplace at the same time.

"Move it, Malfoy, you're standing on my foot!"

"Watch it, Weasley, there's no need to shove!"

Scowling, the two boys stepped out of the fireplace.

"Hi, Louis," said Lily, Albus, and Rose.

"Hi, Lily, hi Al, hi Rose."

"Hey, Scorp," said Al.

"Hi, Scorpius," said Rose.

"Hey," said Scorpius. "Oh, Lily, Cassie says hi, by the way."

"Oh," said Lily. "Er—how is she?"

"Good," said Scorpius. "Maybe the two of you can get together for a playdate sometime this summer."

"A playdate?" said Lily, outraged. "I'm fourteen, Malfoy, not four! Come on, Louis, Rose," she said standing up, "let's go outside, it's a beautiful day."

*********BWST*********

It was an hour later, while Lily, Rose, and Louis were still hanging out outside, that Albus and Scorpius appeared on the porch.

"What d'you want, Al?" said Lily.

"No need to be rude, Lily," said Albus.

"There's plenty of room for all of us if we share," said Scorpius condescendingly.

"I'm not in preschool, you know," said Lily.

"What?" said Scorpius.

"Preschool," said Rose. "It's kind of like daycare, only kids learn simple things like counting and sharing and stuff too. It's for Muggles."

"Oh," said Scorpius dismissively. "Anyway, Al," he continued, I wanted to show you this really cool book my father bought me. It's all about the history of different magical sports. Way more interesting than History of Magic."

Lily and Louis tuned them out, but Rose looked up with interest.

"Can I see?" she asked, standing up and walking over to Albus and Scorpius.

"Sure," said Scorpius, handing it over.

"That's so neat," said Rose.

"You wanna borrow it?" said Scorpius. "I mean, once I'm done reading it, and once Al's done if he wants to read it."

"Can I?" said Rose. "Thanks!"

Lily and Louis shared a look. Rose and books; she'd do anything to get her hands on a new one, even, apparently, consort with the enemy.

*****BWST*****

"Mu-um!" shouted Lily, running down the stairs with her jacket in her hand. "Isn't it time to go _yet_?"

"No, Lily," said Ginny patiently, looking at her daughter with amusement. "It's only noon. The concert doesn't start until eight o'clock tonight."

"When are we picking up Dawn and Marica again?" said Lily, helping herself to a cookie off the sheet her mother was pulling out of the oven.

"Hands off!" said Ginny, slapping Lily's hand away. "These are for your father's work party. And we're picking them up at six thirty so we can get the seven o'clock Portkey."

"Seven o'clock Portkey to where?" said a voice.

Ginny jumped, nearly dropping the tray of cookies.

"Teddy!" she exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Don't you ever write ahead?"

"Sorry, Ginny," he said, bending over and giving her a peck on the cheek. "So where are you going tonight?"

"Some concert," said Ginny. "Harry and I got the tickets for Lily and her friends for Christmas."

"It's not just _some_ concert, Mum!" said Lily indignantly. "It's the _Breathless Banshees_ concert!"

"Wicked!" said Teddy. "You got tickets to that?"

"Yes," said Ginny, "Harry got them through someone at work. Why, do you know them?"

"Know them?" said Teddy. "I love them! Man, Lils, you are so lucky!"

"Hmmmm," said Ginny, looking thoughtfully at her enthusiastic godson. "How would you like to take the girls tonight?"

"Take them?" said Teddy. "Really? That would be—I mean, are you sure you don't want to?"

Ginny laughed. "What reason do I have to want to go to some teen-band concert? I don't listen to the Breathless Banshees or whoever they are. I'm sure you'd enjoy it more than I would, and Lily and her friends would have more fun with you than with her mother."

"What d'you think, Lils?" said Teddy.

"That'd be awesome!" she said. "I mean, not that I don't _want _you to come, Mum, but..."

"I quite understand, dear," said Ginny. "As you heard me say earlier, Teddy, you should go pick up the girls around six-thirty. The Portkey leaves from right outside of Burbank Corner at seven o'clock. You'd better get here around six, just to be safe," she added.

"I won't forget," promised Teddy.

"You'd better not!" Lily told her godbrother.

"See you at six, then," said Teddy. Then he turned on the spot and was gone, knocking over the fruit dish in the process.

"Oh dear," said Ginny, repairing the bowl with a wave of her wand. "That boy..."

*****BWST*****

At six twenty-five, Lily and Teddy stepped out of Marica's fireplace into her living room.

"Marica!" said Lily. "Marica! We're here!"

"No need to shout," said Marica, appearing in the doorway. "I'm ready to go. Oh, hi Teddy," she said. "Lily, where's your mum?"

"Change of plans," said Lily. "Teddy's taking us."

"Neat!" said Marica. "Dad! Mum! I'm leaving!"

"Have a good time dear!" said Marica's parents' voices from the other room.

Next the three of them Flooed to Dawn's house. Dawn's parents were Muggles, and they had never quite gotten used to people appearing in their fireplaces, though they tried to take it in stride.

"Hello, Mr. Hartly, Mrs. Hartly," said Teddy, taking a step forward, knocking over the fire poker, and hurriedly righting it. "I'm Lily's godbrother Teddy."

"Nice to meet you," said Mr. and Mrs. Hartly, eying their fragile mantelpiece china with some concern as Teddy accidentally overturned a a vase of flowers with his arm.

"Ooops!" he said, flicking his wand and repairing the damage. "Sorry about that."

"I'm readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" screamed Dawn, catapulting into the room, grinning like a maniac. "Let's gooooooooooo!" She skidded to a halt and bounced up and down excitedly on the balls of her feet. "Oh, hey, Teddy!" she said excitedly. "Are you coming too?"

"Yup," said Teddy. "It's just me and you girls."

"Cool!" said Dawn. "Let's go!"

"Calm down!" said Marica.

"How can I calm down?" said Dawn. "We're going to the Breathless Banshees concert!"

"Have fun, girls," said Mr. and Mrs. Hartley.

"We will!" they chorused.

The four of them, Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Teddy, all Flooed back to number 12 Grimmauld place and then walked over to the Portkey, a rusty old tin can lying on the street in front of the secret entrance to Burbank Corner.

All four of them gripped it, and after a moment they felt the familiar tug behind their navels.

"Here we are," said Teddy cheerfully, getting up from the ground where he had fallen when they landed and brushing himself off. "Let's go find our seats."

They made their way into the hall where the concert was taking place. The lobby was very crowded, and as they tried to push their way through without knocking into anyone, Lily heard someone call her name.

"Lily! Hey, Lily! Lily Potter! Over here!"

Lily turned and saw River Thurshall making his way toward them through the crowd.

"Hey, River," said Lily, surprised. "I didn't know you were a Breathless Banshees fan."

"Er—yeah, well, you know..." said River. "You seemed really into them, so I thought they must be pretty great."

"Er—okay," said Lily, shrugging.

River looked her up and down. "Wow. You look really good tonight, Lily."

Lily smoothed her hands over her white and blue skirt and blue tights, Dawn and Marica were in matching magenta and green outfits respectively.

"Thanks," she said.

"Where're you sitting?" said River.

They compared tickets.

"Aw," said River, sounding disappointed. "We're not together."

"Well, we didn't buy our tickets together so that makes sense," Lily pointed out.

"True," he said. "Well, at least we can hang out before the show, right?"

"Yeah, right." said Lily.

Teddy tapped her on the shoulder. "Lily, someone's staring at you. I think she wants to say hi. D'you know her?"

Lily turned around.

"_Little Malfoy?"_

Cassiopeia gave Lily a small smile. "Hi, Lily."

"What are you doing here?" said Lily.

Cassiopeia quirked an eyebrow ever-so-slightly. "Seeing the concert," she said.

Oh. Yeah. Duh.

"Er—who're you with?" asked Lily.

"My parents," she said, indicating an area a little ways behind her.

The lights flashed, indicating that the concert was about to start.

"Well, I'll see you at school then I guess," said Lily to Cassiopeia and River.

"Bye, Lily," said Cassiopeia, raising her small hand in a wave. "It was nice seeing you." _I missed you, _she added inside her head.

Lily found her self waving and smiling back.

"Er—nice to see you too," she said.

Cassiopeia's smile widened. She could almost imagine Lily saying _I missed you too._

River scowled and cleared his throat to get Lily's attention "See you," he said, touching her shoulder in farewell before disappearing into the crowd.

"Bye," said Lily. Looking around she saw that Cassiopeia had also disappeared.

"What's going on there?" said Teddy, raising his eyebrows, as they walked to their seats.

"Where?" said Lily, confused.

"With that boy," said Teddy.

"What? With River? Nothing." said Lily. "We're just friends."

Dawn and Marica snorted.

Teddy gave Lily a knowing look. "_Sure_ you are," he said.

Lily opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the first notes of the opening band, Stir My Cauldron.

*****BWST*****

It was nearly midnight by the time Teddy and Lily got back to Grimmauld Place. Harry and Ginny were both sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea and waiting up for them.

"How was it?" asked Harry, stifling a yawn.

"Awesome!" said Lily and Teddy at the same time. They grinned at each other.

"Yeah," Teddy added. "You really missed out, Ginny."

Harry shook his head. "We're too old for that kind of music," he said, laughing. "We'll stick to the good old Weird Sisters, thanks."

"Harry, you're not old," said Teddy, giving his godfather a whack on the arm.

"Well, I'm glad someone thinks so," he said, ruffling his godson's hair, which was a shaggy mix of brown and midnight blue at the moment. "But now," he added. "It is time for bed."

"I agree," said Ginny. "Teddy, would you like to stay over?"

"I'd love to, Ginny, but I'd better not," said Teddy. "Victoire's probably waiting up for me."

"Goodnight, Teddy," said Lily sleepily as her father steered her toward the stairs.

"Goodnight, Lils," said Teddy, before Disapparating. As he vanished, one of the kitchen chairs clattered to the floor.

"Oh dear!" said Ginny.

"He's Tonks's son, alright," said Harry, laughing.

**AN: I know there was basically no Cassiopeia in it. I love her, I do, but this is first and foremost Lily's story. We'll get a bit of a recap of Cassie's summer at the beginning of the next chapter, but where would the fun be if we took all the mystery out of her, right?**

**Did you like Teddy? I like Teddy. :)**

**If you're still reading this story (and you obviously are if you're reading this) getting a review from you would make me awfully happy ;)**

**-SQ**


	9. Chapter 9: A Better Start of Term

**AN: This year starts some of the pairings. The femslash is still a while off. I know, I'm sorry, I didn't think about how long it would actually take to get there when I started writing this, but really it's a story about Lily's last five years of Hogwarts, which include a good bit of femslash later on, rather than a fic entirely focused on the femslash. Other pairings (both permanent and temporary) will start cropping up sooner (as in this year) though.**

**-SQ**

**Chapter Nine: A Better Start of Term**

Cassiopeia Malfoy stepped through the barrier leading to platform 9 ¾ and looked around her, smiling softly. The hustle and bustle of the students, parents, owls, and cats all rushing around on the platform didn't seem quite as intimidating as it had last year, but somewhat more familiar and even a little welcoming. Still holding her brother's hand, Cassiopeia crossed the platform, the sea of students automatically parting for Scorpius as he guided her toward the train.

Cassiopeia had had a good summer. She and her family had taken their annual trip to Paris; they had been visited by both sets of grandparents (not at the same time); and Cassiopeia's mother had thrown one of her balls at which Cassiopeia mostly sat in the corner being 'ooohed and awwwwed' at by her mother's friends, unobtrusively observing all of the guests, and making sarcastic comments to herself in her head. Scorpius had gone out a lot with his friends, but since Cassiopeia's only friend was Lily, and it wasn't really a 'go out with' kind of relationship, Cassiopeia had spent a lot of time in her room by herself, reading, doing her summer homework, and watching life go on through her window. Summer was a very nice time of year; sun, sleeping in (though Cassiopeia rarely did that), and hardly any schoolwork to worry about, but what Scorpius and her father had told her was true, Hogwarts was truly a place like no other, and she was glad to be going back.

"Hey, Scorp!" called a voice from a few cars down the train. "Hey, over here!"

Cassiopeia and Scorpius both looked toward the voice. Albus Potter was waving vigorously from where he stood in front of the scarlet steam-engine, in the midst of a crowd of family members.

"Al!" said Scorpius, dragging Cassiopeia over and then letting go of her hand.

"I've already got a compartment," said Albus. "It's farther down that way."

"Cool," said Scorpius. "Let's go."

"Can I come?" asked Hugo eagerly, watching the older boys with a hopeful expression.

"Sure," said Scorpius airliy. "Why not? Slytherin compartment here we come!"

And the three boys set off in the direction of their chosen compartment.

Cassiopeia watched them leave, and then turned her attention to a certain redhead who was standing in front of her.

Lily Potter had grown over the summer, and though she still wasn't particularly tall, it made the height difference between her and Cassiopeia more pronounced than ever. The momentary panicky lost feeling that had come over Cassiopeia as she had watched Scorpius walk away vanished as she met Lily's brown eyes and smiled.

*****BWST*****

Lily frowned slightly. Why was Scorpius going off and leaving his little sister? Oh yeah. Because Lily was meant to be watching her. Shaking her head slightly in annoyance at Scorpius, though not, this time, at Cassiopeia, Lily turned her frown into a vaguely amused questioning expression.

"Hello," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Hi, Lily," said Cassiopeia.

"Lily!" squealed Dawn, running over and giving Lily a huge hug. "Hey! How are you?"

Lily laughed. "I'm good, how about you?"

"Super!" said Dawn, beaming.

"What's got you so hyped up?" asked Lily, eying her bouncing friend.

"Muggle candies," said Marica, appearing on Lily's other side. "Less magic. More sugar. How was your Muggle summer?" she said, turning to Dawn.

"Muggle-tastic!" Dawn giggled.

Lily and Marica rolled their eyes.

The Hogwarts Express blew its whistle.

"Oh!" said Lily. "We'd better got on the train!"

She, Dawn, and Marica ran toward the train and hopped on board, looking back over their shoulders to wave at their parents one last time.

Just like the last two months had never happened, Cassiopeia followed the older girls onto the train and into their compartment.

"Her?" said Dawn in a whisper. "Still?"

"Oh, let her alone," sighed Lily. "She isn't causing any harm."

Dawn and Marica raised their eyebrows at her.

"What?" said Lily. "Haven't you ever heard of not fighting a battle you can't win?"

The compartment door opened a few minutes later and Rose entered.

"There you are," she said.

"And there you are," Lily observed.

Cassiopeia stifled a giggle.

"What've you been up to?" Rose asked the younger girls, sinking into the seat beside Lily.

"Nothing much," said Lily. "You?"

"Prefect duties," she said.

"Yawn," pronounced Dawn.

Marica poked her.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For yawning at prefects."

"I wasn't yawning at the _prefects_," she clarified. "I was yawning at the prefect _duties_."

Rose laughed. "It's kind of true," she said. "The beginning of the year meeting is rather dull."

"See?" said Dawn triumphantly, earning her another poke.

"Who're the new prefects?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, let's see," said Rose. "For Gryffindor it's Coleen Creevey and Derick Branstone. Hufflepuff has Jonas Finch-Fletchley and Beatrice Toren. For Ravenclaw it's Amelia Boot and your friend River Thurshall. And the Slytherins are Patricia Nott and Kyle Pritchard."

"Oh, River was made a prefect?" said Lily. "I bet he'll be really happy.

Dawn and Marica giggled. Lily shook her head at them in confusion. What was it with them? Didn't they realize it wasn't like that between her and River?

The compartment door opened again and Tamzen, Brandi, and Paloma came in.

"Hi," they said, squeezing themselves into the booth with Lily, Rose, Dawn, and Marica.

"Ouch!" said Lily. "There isn't enough room. There are two booths in here you know."

Brandi looked toward the other booth.

"It's occupied."

"Yeah, by one little girl!" said Lily.

Shrugging, Brandi, Paloma, and Tamzen went to sit in the booth with Cassiopeia.

"So," said Tamzen, "how were your summers?"

"Great!" gushed Dawn. "I went to the Muggle summer camp I go to every year in California and then when I got back we—me, Lily, and Marica—went to the Breathless Banshees concert!"

"Aw, no fair!" said Paloma. "I really wanted to go to that but the tickets were all sold out! How was it?"

"Awesome," said Lily, Dawn, and Marica, grinning.

"D'you have pictures?" asked Brandi.

Lily, Marica, and Dawn pulled the photos they had taken out of their trunks, along with the posters each of them had bought.

"Who's everyone's favorite Breathless Banshee band member?" asked Tamzen, staring at the four guys and two girls on the poster.

"Andy Hoarman," sighed Dawn.

Everyone laughed.

"Shocker there," said Marica sarcastically. "Personally I prefer Justin Kitcham. He's so...put together."

"He's alright," said Paloma, "but Ezra Young is my favorite, he's adorable, such a starving artist."

Brandi shook her head. "Damian Boyer all the way. He's _hot_!"

"I'm with Marica," said Rose. "Justin is very suave. And blond," she added.

"I like them all," said Tamzen. "I can't decide on just one!"

All seven other girls laughed.

"What about you, Lily?" asked Brandi.

Lily thought for a moment. "Alison Hester," she said.

The other girls gave her strange looks.

Uh, Lily," said Dawn, "we meant the _guys_."

"Oh, right." said Lily. "Er...I'd have to say Ezra. His guitar playing is seriously wow."

Cassiopeia chewed her little finger thoughtfully. If they asked her opinion, which they didn't of course, she would have to agree with Lily. Alison Hester was a fantastic soprano. Of course, Karen Jewels was an amazing alto too...and Andy Hoarman was a really good bass player...and Damian Boyer's voice was pretty sweet...and Ezra Young's guitar playing was pretty wow...and Justin Kitcham worked magic with the drums...but Cassiopeia would definitely say that her favorite was Alison Hester, if anybody asked her, which they didn't.

*****BWST*****

A couple hours later, after the food trolley had come and gone and Paloma, Tamzen, and Brandi had left, River Thurshall poked his head into the compartment.

"Hi, Lily," he said, giving her a crooked grin.

"Hi, River," she said, ignoring her friends' giggles. "How're you? I heard you got chosen as a prefect."

"Yeah," said River, fingering the badge on his chest proudly. "Wouldn't it be cool if you got it next year? Then we could be prefects together."

Lily shrugged. "Nah, I'm not gonna be a prefect. They're gonna choose Marica."

"You never know," said River, smiling.

"Yeah," said Lily, "and you never _know_ that my brother Albus and Scorpius Malfoy are going to get into trouble before the first month of school is out. But they always do."

Over in the other booth, Cassiopeia grinned behind her hand.

"Mind if I sit here?" said River, indicating the bench beside Lily.

"Sure," said Rose, moving across to the seat beside Dawn and Marica.

"Rose," said Lily, "There's plenty of room for three on this bench. No need to play musical seats."

"There's room for three over here, too" said Rose.

There was the sound of some sort of commotion from out in the corridor and then Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo rushed in, slamming the door shut behind them. They were laughing madly.

_What have you done now? _Cassiopeia thought, eying her brother, who was doubled over, panting and laughing.

"What have you done now?" asked Lily, narrowing her eyes at the three boys.

"Weasley's—Wizard—Wheezes—Pop—Pellets—" gasped Albus

"Under—the—rug—in—the—corridor—" wheezed Scorpius.

"Everyone—and—everything—popping—everywhere—" panted Hugo.

"Will you guys _ever_ grow up?" said Lily, shaking her head in disgust, as Rose hurried to the door to make sure no one had been hurt.

To avoid looking at the three pranksters, Lily cast her gaze around the compartment. It fell on Cassiopeia who was caught in a fit of silent giggles in her seat at the other booth.

Actually, it was kind of cute to see the usually serious-looking little girl smiling and laughing like a regular kid. Lily's face softened. Maybe it _was_ a bit funny, to think of all those people suddenly being popped off their feet by Weazley's Wizard Wheezes Pop Pellets. Still woefully immature of course, but, really, Albus and Scorpius had done worse. At least the lasting damage from this stunt would be minimal.

*****BWST*****

After the commotion in the hall had died down, the three Slytherins left the compartment. As Rose hadn't come back, that left only Lily, Dawn, Marica, Cassiopeia, and River.

"We should change into our robes," said Marica after a few more minutes of idle chatter.

Lily readily agreed. For some reason River seemed to be taking up more of the bench than he really ought to, making it so that Lily was rather pressed up against the window.

_*****_BWST_*****_

Once they had changed into their robes, Dawn reached into her trunk and pulled out a deck of cards.

"Wanna play a card game?" she asked.

"Okay, what kind?" said Lily.

"Shrieking Deck?" suggested River

Dawn shook her head. "Sorry, I've only got Muggle cards. What about BS?"

"Huh?" said River.

Lily and Marica, who had played the game with Dawn several times, since it was one of her favorites, proceeded to explain it to him.

"It's really pretty simple," said Marica. "Everyone gets a hand of cards, and the first person puts down Aces, the next person puts down Twos, the next person Threes, and so on."

"If you haven't got any of the card you're supposed to put down," said Lily, "you just put down some other cards and _say_ that they're the cards you're supposed to be putting down."

"And if someone else thinks that you're lying they can say BS," said Marica. "And if you were you have to pick up all the cards in the middle."

"But if you weren't, _they_ have to take the cards," added Dawn.

"The point is to try to get rid of all of your cards," said Lily.

"Okay," said River. "Let's play.

Dawn, who was a BS champion, easily won the first game, with Lily coming in second, Marica third, and River last.

"You wanna play again?" said Dawn.

"Sure," said Lily, River, and Marica.

"It's really more fun with more people, though," said Dawn.

"Hmmm," said Lily. "Hey, Little Malfoy."

Cassiopeia sat up from where she had been lying on her stomach on her seat and looked at Lily.

"D'you wanna play cards with us?"

Cassiopeia nodded eagerly. Yes, she wanted to play cards with them! Lily had never invited her to actually hang out with her and her friends before. And that card game looked really fun. She walked over to the other booth.

"Here, said Lily, making room between her and River, "you can sit here so I can teach you how to play."

"Oh, I already know how to play," said Cassiopeia shyly as she sat down beside Lily.

River gave her a very annoyed look.

"How?" asked Lily, surprised.

"I listened," said Cassiopeia simply.

Cassiopeia said nothing else during the entire game except to say what cards she was putting down and to call "BS" on other people. Whenever anyone "BS"ed her she either took the cards without comment or (much more often) smiled serenely at them while turning the cards over to reveal that she had been telling the truth. To be honest, it was a little unnerving, though Lily was so used to the little girl by now that it didn't bother her as much as it used to.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Cassiopeia laid down her cards ("Two sevens") and then said, "I'm out of cards, that means I win, right?"

The other four blinked at her.

"Yeah," said Lily. "I suppose it does."

"Beginner's luck," scoffed River, who, of course, hadn't played the game either until that day.

"You wanna play again?" asked Dawn.

Cassiopeia nodded. The others shrugged. Dawn shuffled and then dealt the cards and they began.

*****BWST*****

Two games, and two wins for Cassiopeia later, they had to admit that it was more than beginner's luck.

"That isn't fair!" said Dawn. "I've been playing this game for _years_! I'm the best! How can a twelve-year-old who's never played before keep beating me?"

"It's 'cause she's so small and quiet you forget she's there until she wins," said River, not altogether kindly.

"It's a good strategy, I suppose," said Lily.

Cassiopeia tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. _I am right here, you know_, she thought with faint amusement.

None of the others seemed to notice, but Lily bit her lip. Being the youngest (well, her and Hugo) in a large family, she knew what it was like to be talked about like she wasn't there.

Cassiopeia shrugged one shoulder at her. _Don't worry, I'm used to it. Everyone does it._

Lily gave her a look that was halfway between an eye-roll and a frown. _Yeah, but it does kind of get old after a while_, she thought.

Wait a minute, did she really just have a conversation with Little Malfoy without saying a word? It hadn't been intentional, or even particularly conscious on her part, she had just understood what the other girl meant, and had replied without really giving it much thought. Weird...

Wait a minute, Cassiopeia suddenly realized, she had just had an entire unspoken conversation with Lily. The only other person she did that with was Scorpius. Not that she didn't "say" the things to other people, but no one else understood what they meant, and she didn't expect them to. She was a lot better at reading people than communicating with them. But obviously Lily _had_ understood, or at least that's certainly what it had looked like. Weird...

They were saved from playing yet another game of BS by the arrival of the train at Hogwarts. The five of them dragged their trunks off of the Hogwarts Express and piled into one of the horseless carriages. (Well, they weren't actually horseless of course, Lily's dad had told her they were pulled by creatures called Thestrals, but unless you had seen someone die they _looked_ horseless, and that's really all that mattered.)

Lily looked around for Rose. She thought she saw her red curly hair disappear into another carriage, but when she looked again all she could see was Hugo, Albus, and Scorpius. Shrugging, she pulled herself into her own carriage with Dawn, Marica, River, and Cassiopeia and they began to move toward the castle.

*****BWST*****

"Anyone we know being Sorted this year?" Lily asked Dawn, Marica, and Rose as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Not that I know of," said Dawn.

"Paloma's little sister," said Marica. "Alondra, I think her name is."

"And the little Creevey boy," said Rose. "I don't remember his name. I only know because Colleen said so during the prefects' meeting this morning."

"Shhhh," said Lily, "there's the Hat."

Professor Bloomfield set the Sorting Hat down on the stool and the Hall fell silent. A rip near the brim opened and the hat began to sing:

_It may seem strange since you are new,_

_To see me sitting here._

_I am old and dull and faded_

_And may be ripped I fear._

_But if you look then you'll find me_

_(if I say so myself)_

_Really quite superior _

_To the hats on your shelf._

_Your bonnets they may be pretty,_

_Your top hats very sleek,_

_But now I challenge you, my friend,_

_To find one that can speak._

_For I, myself, and only I,_

_Once you have slipped me on,_

_Can tell you in which Hogwarts house_

_You really do belong._

_Your home could be Gryffindor_

_If you're brave and daring;_

_Or just perhaps in Hufflepuff_

_If you're fair and caring._

_Perhaps you'll go to Slytherin_

_Provided you are cunning;_

_Or it could be in Ravenclaw,_

_where smarts keep you coming._

_But you remember, most of all,_

_Whichever house you're in_

_To do both it and Hogwarts proud,_

_For here we all are kin._

_Now that I have told you all that,_

_if you have attended_

_It's time for you to try me and_

_Know your House intended!_

"Oooh!" said Dawn. "I think that was the best yet!"

Marica laughed. "Dawn, you said that _last_ year!"

"_And_ the year before!" added Lily.

"Yeah, well...but this one was even _better_!" argued Dawn_._

_*****_BWST_*****_

Cassiopeia watched the first years come in with interest. That had been her last year, looking so small and scared. Well, she was still small, but not nearly as scared. She didn't recognize any of the new students. Why would she? But it was pretty neat to be on this side of the Sorting Ceremony and she watched the terrified first years intently.

*****BWST*****

Paloma Cartrez's little sister Alondra was fourth on the list, after "Antonich, David," "Boren, Adrianna," and "Burgundy, Kathleen," and before "Chang, Cedric." After about a minute the hat called out "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the new first year slid off the stool and walked over to the cheering Hufflepuff table, dark brown braids bouncing.

Coleen Creevey's youngest brother, whose name was Michael, was next, and was sorted into Gryffindor.

*****BWST*****

When the last new student ("Zabini, Sally." "SLYTHERIN!") had finally been Sorted, the hungry students turned to their plates and the golden platers filled magically with delicious food.

"Mmmmmm!" said Dawn, licking her lips. "Hogwarts food is the _best_!"

Lily, Marica, and Cassiopeia all giggled.

"Dawn," said Marica. "You think _all_ food is the best."

"Only if it's good food!" protested Dawn.

*****BWST*****

Once the dishes had been cleared of both dinner and dessert (which was proclaimed equally delicious by Dawn), and after the Headmaster had made the start of term announcements, the students rose from their House tables and made their ways to their dormitories.

"Goodnight, Rose," said Lily as her cousin went ahead of her up the stairs.

"Goodnight, Lily," said Rose. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Lily," said Cassiopeia softly as she turned down the hall to her own dormitory.

"Goodnight, Little Malfoy," said Lily after a moment. Then she, Dawn, and Marica continued up to their dormitory.

All in all, this had been a much better start of term than last year.

**AN: I don't know if they play BS in England or not, or if they do if it's called the same thing, but it doesn't really matter because, if you haven't gathered, Dawn has family in America, so she could have easily learned it there.**

**Unimportant fact you might be interested in: Paloma means Dove in Spanish and Alondra means Lark.**

**I don't like this Sorting Hat song as much as the one I made up for last year, but oh well.**

**Thanks for reading, favoriting, reviewing, alerting, etc. I really do love getting them (especially reviews ;) )**

**I know the chapter wasn't very exciting, but it establishes the new school year and all that.**

**-SQ**


	10. Chapter 10: To Have a Friend

**Disclaimer: I have never and will never own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 10: To Have a Friend**

Lily, Dawn, and Marica were the last from their dormitory to come down the stairs into the common room the next morning. Lily and Marica had only finally succeeded in dragging Dawn out of bed by threatening that if she didn't get up that minute she would miss breakfast. Cassiopeia, who had always been an early riser, was waiting for them, feet tucked under her, in one of the over-sized armchairs in front of the fireplace, braiding an elaborate plait out of several different colors of threads. She un-tucked her feet and slid out of the chair, slipping her plait into her robes. Then she trotted out of the portrait hole after the older girls.

"I love the first day of classes," said Marica. "It's so exciting!"

Lily and Dawn laughed.

"Only you would find going to classes exciting," said Dawn.

"Some classes are exciting," said Lily. "Like Defense."

"When we're practicing spells it is," conceded Dawn. "But not when we're taking notes."

_I don't know, _thought Cassiopeia, _casting spells _is_ more exciting, but learning information is interesting too._

The four girls sat down at the Gryffindor table and began to eat their breakfasts.

"Hi, Rose," said Lily, sliding into the seat across from her cousin.

"Hi, Lily," said Rose. "How're you?"

"Good. Have they given out class schedules yet?"

"No, Professor Longbottom's coming along with them now." Professor Longbottom, who was the head of Gryffindor House, was walking down the Gryffindor table, handing his students their schedules.

"We've got Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins and then Herbology with the Ravenclaws," said Marica, looking at her schedule. "And Lily and I've got Arithmancy, then we all have Transfiguration and Charms."

Dawn glanced down at her own schedule. "I've got a free period while you're in Arithmancy, cool."

"Going to use it to do homework?" asked Marica.

Dawn looked at her askance. "Are you crazy?"

Cassiopeia examined her own schedule. Potions was first on the list. Great, a perfect start to the week, she thought sarcastically. But the day got better after that; she had Charms and then Defense Against the Dark Arts. And after lunch she had History of Magic, but she also had Transfiguration.

Lily finished her last piece of toast and rose from the table.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go. The last thing we need is to be late to class on the first day of term."

_*****_BWST_*****_

"I can't believe Professor Longbottom gave us homework on the first day of classes," moaned Dawn as they walked up the path to the castle for lunch.

"Oh, Dawn stop whining," said Marica. "It's only looking up a few definitions."

"It's still homework," said Dawn. "We didn't have homework on the first day of term last year!"

"We weren't preparing for our O. last year."

"Those are almost two years away!" Dawn protested.

"You'll be glad to be prepared when it comes time to take the tests," said Rose sagely as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"I'd rather be glad now," grumbled Dawn as she helped herself to some scalloped potatoes.

Cassiopeia slid into the seat beside Lily that the other girls had automatically left open out of habit.

"I bet _she_ hasn't got homework yet," said Dawn.

"I have," said Cassiopeia. "Potions," she said, making a face.

"I love Potions," said Lily, grinning.

Cassiopeia shook her head, and Lily could have sworn she heard the younger girl mutter "Mental."

_*****_BWST_*****_

The first two weeks of school went by as normally as could be expected at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A couple of cauldrons exploded in Potions, someone was bitten by the Venomous Tentacula during Herbology, a creature or two got loose during Care of Magical Creatures, and Albus and Scorpius set off a couple Weazleys' Wizard Wheezes firecrackers during Transfiguration, but other than that it was rather uneventful.

Cassiopeia decided that she liked second year even better than she had liked first. She still didn't have any friends besides Lily, but she was feeling more comfortable with her dorm-mates and other house-mates, she found her lessons even more interesting, and she was starting to figure out all the intricacies of the castle. After all, she had a very good memory and lots of time on her hands, and she had been mentally constructing a map of the castle piece by piece inside her head. She had heard from Scorpius about the Maurader's Map that Albus Potter's older brother James had, and she would have loved to get her hands on it, it sounded amazing. Maps had always fascinated Cassiopeia, as had traveling and foreign cultures. Cassiopeia also had an ear for languages. She already spoke fluent French, since her family went to France every summer, and she was fairly good at German and Spanish and had a smattering of Italian, Danish, and Swedish. Next she hoped to learn some of the Asian languages, perhaps Korean or Japanese, and she'd love to learn some sort of African dialect too. Still, she was only twelve years old. She had plenty of time.

Lily, meanwhile thought that fourth year wasn't really so bad either. True, the work was harder, and the teachers were sterner, but they were also getting to learn a lot more advanced and interesting things in class, and doing a lot more practical work for subjects like Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. The homework was harder, and there was more of it, but at least she didn't have other activities competing with it, such as Dawn's Quidditch and Marica's Wizards' Chess Club, of which she was now Secretary. Dawn and Marica kept telling her that she should get involved in something, but none of the clubs, teams, or organizations at Hogwarts held much interest for her. Tamzen told her that what she needed was a boyfriend, but she ignored this piece of advice as well. What she would have liked was to learn how to speak another language. Since her aunt Fleur was French she spoke French quite well, but she only knew a handful of words in any other language besides English, if any at all. Over the summer she had developed an interest in foreign cultures and languages from, of all things, a Muggle magazine called _National Geographic_ that Dawn had brought back with her from America. She had ordered a long-distance subscription to the Magazine, plus a subscription to a similar wizarding magazine, and had checked out some books from the library to help her learn Spanish, which she judged as a fairly easy beginner language, since it had many similarities to both English and French. But she was frustrated with her progress. As for Cassiopeia, Lily found that she really didn't mind the other girl's presence, though it still confused her greatly.

River, too, thought that Lily should get involved in some sort of school activity.

"Why don't you come with me to the Gobstones Club," River said, catching up to her as they exited the Great Hall after dinner.

Lily shook her head. It always amused her that River Thurshall, tall, dark, and handsome Quidditch player, was the vice-president of the Hogwarts Gobstones Club.

"No thanks, River," she told her friend.

"Aw, come on, why not, Lily?" said River.

"'Cause I don't want to," said Lily.

"But you like playing gobstones!"

"Yeah, as a hobby," said Lily. "But I don't want to commit an evening of my week to playing gobstones!"

"But we don't just _play_ Gobstones," River protested. "We look at _news_ about Gobstones, and _compare _Gobstones and _trade _Gobstones and—"

"I get it, I get it," said Lily, laughing. "Sounds great."

"So how about it?" said River eagerly.

"No thanks, River," said Lily. "You go ahead. I'll see you later." And, waving, she followed Dawn and Marica up the marble staircase, Cassiopeia at her heals.

River watched them disappear with a disappointed look on his face.

*****BWST*****

September was a dreary month in the weather department. It rained almost incessantly, and there was a chill in the air altogether too biting for this early in the year. This kind of weather made classes like Care of Magical Creatures particularly miserable. The fourth years were learning about hippogriffs. Hippogriffs had been a third year lesson when Lily's parents had been in school, and then had been taken out of the curriculum altogether for a number of years. Recently they had been reinstated, this time into the fourth year lesson plan.

"Alrigh'," said Hagrid to the soaked and shivering fourth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs who were huddled as close together as possible under the awning of Hagid's cottage. "Today we're goin' ter be startin' our work with hippogriffs. Who can tell me somethin' about them?"

Lily, some of whose earliest childhood memories involved a hippogriff named Buckbeak, who had died five years ago when she was nine, raised her hand.

"Lily?"

"A hippogriff has the front half of an eagle and the back half of a horse," said Lily. "They're really proud, and you should always look them in the eyes bow and then wait for the hippogriff to bow back before you get any closer. They can be really nice and loyal once they trust you though."

"Very good, Lily," said Hagid with a proud grin. "That jus' about sums it up. I have three hippogriffs around back an' yeh can take turns approachin' them and bowin'. If they don' bow back after a few seconds yeh'd best back up an' try a different one."

The class, dripping and scowling, moved around back into the yard where the three hippogriffs, looking equally drippy and miserable, were waiting.

It would have been a good class if it weren't for the awful weather. Lily, who had experience with and was comfortable around hippogriffs, went first, and had no problem getting a palomino by the name of Feathergold, to bow to her. By the end of the lesson, everyone in the class had gotten at least one hippogriff to bow to them, and Leela had gotten all three, even petting them softly on the heads. Some of the other students looked at her rather jealously when she did this.

"Next time we'll be workin' on groomin' 'em," said Hagrid. "An' when we're done with that we can go on ter feedin' an' ridin'."

Lily, Dawn, and Marica trudged back up to the castle with the intention of changing into dry clothes before going down to lunch. Cassiopeia, whose last class before lunch had been Herbology, fell into step behind them, having gotten almost equally wet in simply walking to and from the greenhouses.

"I feel like I jumped in the lake with my robes on," complained Dawn, ringing out the hem of her robes.

"I know what you mean," Marica commiserated. "I don't think it's possible for us to be any wetter."

"Don't say that too loudly," said Lily warningly. "If Peeves hears you I'm sure he could find a way."

Luckily, the four girls made it up to Gryffindor Tower and back down to the Great Hall without incident, where they were very glad to discover that lunch consisted of toasted cheese sandwiches and hot tomato soup.

*****BWST*****

By that evening the weather had become so bad that even Quidditch practice was canceled, so Dawn joined Lily and Marica in front of the common room fire to work on their homework.

"I can't concentrate with all that rain pounding on the windows," said Dawn. "It's simply too early for this kind of terrible weather!"

Marica shrugged. "Tell that to Mother Nature. Kudos if she listens to you."

Andrew Davies, another Gryffindor fourth year and Dawn's fellow Chaser on the Griffindor Quidditch team, threw himself down into the chair next to Dawn.

"Man, this sucks," he said, running a hand through his straw-colored hair, making it stick up in every direction. "How are we supposed to win that match against Slytherin if we can't even practice?"

"I know," said Dawn. "But at least the Slytherins can't practice either. Madam Hooch officially called off all practices until further notice due to 'unsafe conditions'.

Davies kicked a booted foot against the table.

"Hey!" protested both Marica and Cassiopeia, as their work was knocked to the ground.

"Oops, sorry," said Davies, stilling his swinging leg. "I'm just restless."

"Me too," said Dawn. "I need to be active, to _do_ something. I can't just sit around all day! I'll go crazy!" She waved her arms wildly, almost knocking her own homework off the table.

Davies caught Dawn's homework and set it back on the table, laughing. "I'm afraid it's a little late for that one, Dawn," he said jokingly. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aw now, don't do that to your pretty little face," he said. "You're supposed to be a lion, not a snake."

Dawn wrinkled her nose. "Well you look like a haystack," she informed him, pointing to his sticking-up hair.

He pretended to look very offended. "I happen to be quite proud of my hair, thank you very much," he said, showily smoothing it down with his hands. "Everyone thinks I'm quite imposingly handsome you know."

This made all four girls laugh out loud. Davies was a tall, thin, scarecrow of a boy, whose hands and feet always seemed a little too big for his body, and his head just the opposite. And he was just about as far from 'imposing' as you could get. There was no denying that he was a great Chaser though. He had made the team in his second year, a fact he liked to playfully lord over Dawn, who had first tried out in her second year, but had only made the team in her third.

Davies stretched out his long legs under the table, but almost immediately leapt back up again, endangering the girls' homework once more.

"I can't sit here and study anymore," he said.

_Were you studying? t_hought Cassiopeia,eying the empty spot on the table in front of him and his closed schoolbag that was thrown carelessly on the floor.

"You weren't studying in the first place," Lily pointed out.

"You know what I mean," he said. "It's not a sitting still and studying kind of day."

"It is if you want to get good marks," muttered Marica.

Davies didn't hear her, or if he did he chose to ignore her. "I'm going for a walk. Who wants to come?"

"I've got work to do," said Lily and Marica at the same time.

"Dawn?"

"You're right, this isn't a sit and study kind of day at all," she said. "I'll come."

"What about your essay?" Marica called after her.

"I'll do it later," she threw over her shoulder as she and Davies left through the portrait hole, him holding it open for her with an extravagant bow, her giving him a good shove so that he fell through it headfirst, arms pinwheeling comically for balance.

"How our Quidditch team is any good with a couple of clowns like that as Chasers I'll never know," said Marica.

"It's a mystery," agreed Lily.

*****BWST*****

Two hours later Dawn and Davies came back through the portrait hole, flushed, dripping, and grinning like idiots.

"Where have you two been?" said Lily. "And why are you all wet?"

"We took a walk," said Dawn, giggling.

"Outside," said Davies, giggling as well.

Lily gave them a strange look. "What's so funny?"

They only laughed harder.

Lily looked at Marica, who looked just as confused as she did. Cassiopeia on the other hand, had her mouth quirked into a lopsided smile.

"What do you know that I don't know?" demanded Lily irritably.

Cassiopeia gave the redhead her most wide-eyed innocent look. _If you can't figure it out for yourself I'm not going to tell you._

"Goodnight, Dawn," said Davies, heading toward the boys' staircase.

"Goodnight, Andrew," said Dawn, practically skipping toward the girls' stairs.

"Goodnight?" said Marica. "What about your essay?"

"I'll do it later," chirped Dawn over her shoulder as she disappeared up the staircase.

"What's gotten into her?" said Lily.

*****BWST*****

The next evening Lily and Marica (Dawn was at a Quidditch meeting, since actual practice was still canceled due to the weather) were making a rather half-baked effort on their Ancient Runes translations in the library. Cassiopeia, of course, was seated at the next table, reading her History of Magic textbook while her fingers busily worked at the elaborate plait resting in her lap.

All three girls looked up as someone came through the library door.

"Oh _no_," groaned Marica.

It was Sasha Redmond, a preppy, uppity Ravenclaw in their year. She and Marica had been best friends when they were little, but during their first year they had gotten into a huge fight and now they couldn't even be in the same room with each other without throwing flames. Sometimes literally, as Lily had occasion to remember from their second year.

"I'm leaving," said Marica, standing up and gathering her things into her bag. "I'm not staying here if _she's_ here. Are you coming Lily?"

"In a minute," said Lily, who really didn't have a problem with Redmond, other than the fact that she was a little too preppy and uppity for her liking.

Marica stalked out of the room, looking pointedly in the opposite direction as Sasha Redmond said something to her group of friends, who laughed loudly.

"Shhhh!" said the librarian, Madam Tuftly.

Lily turned back to her work, determined to at least get something done before she returned to the common room. After a few minutes she became aware somebody sitting in the seat across from her that Marica had recently vacated. She looked up.

Cassiopeia's round, pale eyes looked back at her. Lily jumped.

"Don't _do_ that!" she said.

"Sorry," said the little girl. "My table was taken over." She jerked her head at the table she had been sitting at. It was now occupied by Sasha Redmond and several of her friends.

"Oh," said Lily, unsure of what else to say.

The two girls went back to their work, heads, red and blond respectively, bowed over their papers. But presently Lily raised her head again and contemplated the smaller girl sitting across from her.

Cassiopeia's long, fine blond hair hid her thin pointed face as she sat, chin propped up on one small hand, silvery-blue eyes focused intently on the page in front of her, her quill dangling loosely from the fingers of her other hand. Lily had always compared the pale young girl to a ghost, but really she looked more like some sort of nymph.

Sensing Lily's eyes on her, Cassiopeia looked up inquiringly from her work

Lily twirled her quill absently around in her fingers.

"Little Malfoy," she said. "Er—Cassiopeia, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," the younger girl observed with a small smile, the corrected use of her first name not escaping her.

Lily found her the corners of own mouth curling upward in response. "Well, can I ask you another one then? After this one I mean."

Cassiopeia bobbed her head in assent.

"Well..." said Lily, now sucking on the end of her quill. "Why did you decide to follow me around all the time? I never gave you any encouragement. I didn't even like you. So...why?"

"You were my only friend," said Cassiopeia simply.

Lily gaped at her. "Friend? But—I never said I was your friend!"

"Scorpius did," said Cassiopeia, the thought suddenly dawning on her that maybe Lily hadn't thought of them as friends.

"And you just—just took his word for it?" said Lily incredulously. "You never thought that maybe the fact that I never once acted like your friend meant anything?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that you never acted like my friend? I've never had any friends before. I knew you didn't particularly like me, but I liked you, and that's more than can be said for my mother and some of her friends."

"But I told you to go away!" said Lily.

"Scorpius tells me to go away all the time," said Cassiopeia, shrugging again.

Lily blinked. "So...why did you never talk to me, if we were supposed to be friends?"

"You never talked to me," Cassiopeia pointed out.

That was true enough, Lily acknowledged, wondering why in the world she had never thought of simply asking Cassiopeia why she was shadowing her before.

"You've started talking more lately," Lily realized. "Not much, but some. And you're more...present. And on the train..."

"Yeah," said Cassiopeia. "That was really weird. I mean, Scorpius and I have conversations like that all the time, but no one else usually picks those things up."

"What things?"

"The things I'm thinking," said Cassiopeia. "I really do pay attention you know."

Something suddenly dawned on Lily. "It's not that you don't ever have anything to say, is it?" she asked slowly. Cassiopeia shook her head. "You just don't know how to say it, do you?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "Somehow it gets stuck between my brain and my mouth," she said. "I can't believe I'm even having this conversation with you. Usually I just—"

"Watch," finished Lily.

Cassiopeia nodded again.

Lily looked at the younger girl with new eyes. She had never realized there was so much going on in Little Malfoy's head. She had always assumed that the fact that she wasn't saying anything meant that she wasn't thinking anything either. Which was silly, she reprimanded herself, since she often held her tongue and kept her thoughts to herself, especially when around her loud, exuberant family.

Now Cassiopeia bit her lip and swung her feet, which didn't quite reach the floor. "So—er—Lily?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean we're not friends anymore?"

She felt a terrible sinking sense of loss in the pit of her stomach as she said the words. Even though—and now that Lily had pointed it out it seemed glaringly obvious—Lily had never thought of them as being friends to begin with, it still felt to Cassiopeia that she was losing something very important; though she couldn't figure out just why it should be so important. Everyone lost their first friendship at some point or another, but, she told herself with a note of cynicism, most people did it when they were four, not twelve.

"Well," said Lily. "I don't know about anymore, since us being friends is news to me." Cassiopeia's face fell just slightly. "But," she continued, surprising herself, "I don't see why we can't be friends from here on in. It's what our meddling older brothers intended in the first place."

Cassiopeia giggled, a warm bubbly feeling quickly replacing the sinking feeling in her stomach.

Cassiopeia's laughter was contagious, and soon both girls were doubled over in unexplainable fits of giggles.

"_Shhhh!"_ said Madam Tuftly, which, of course, just made them giggle all the more.

_This,_ Cassiopeia realized with a sense of wondrous delight as she and Lily finally got a hold of themselves, _is what it _really_ feels like to have a friend._

**AN: As always, I'd love to get reviews from you and see what you think. I don't post just to see my story on the screen you know ;) I hope you liked the chapter. I'm assuming that if you're reading chapter ten you must like the story at least a **_**little**_** bit. Thanks for reading and to those of you who have favorited, alerted, and reviewed.**

**-SQ**


	11. Chapter 11: Beautiful October

**Chapter Eleven: Beautiful October**

Lily and Cassiopeia walked back up to Gryffindor Tower together, where Lily was immediately accosted by Dawn the moment she set foot through the portrait hole.

"It's about _time_!" said said, dragging Lily over to the fire. "Where have you _been_?"

"The library," said Lily, looking at her friend in amused confusion. "What's all the fuss about?"

"We've been _waiting_ for you!" said Dawn.

"Why?"

"She says she's got something to tell us," said Marica. "But she wouldn't say it until you got here."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Dawn keeping quiet about something she's excited about? Write it on your calendars!"

Dawn stuck her tongue out at Lily.

"Come _on_, Dawn," said Marica impatiently. "Lily's here now, what is it?"

Dawn's face split into an even bigger grin and she bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"Andrew asked me out!"

"What?"

"Andrew asked me out!" she repeated. "Today after the Quidditch meeting. He pulled be aside and asked me out!"

"Andrew Davies?" asked Lily.

"Who else?" said Dawn.

"I didn't know you liked him," said Marica.

"I didn't," said Dawn. "Until yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" asked Lily.

Cassiopeia snorted.

"What?" said Lily. "What do you know that we don't?"

Marica and Dawn looked from Lily to Cassiopeia in surprise.

"Wasn't it obvious when they came back from their walk yesterday?" said Cassiopeia.

"Oh..." said Lily.

"I've been outdone by a twelve year-old," said Marica.

Cassiopeia and Dawn laughed.

"So, are you officially going out now?" said Lily.

"Uh huh!" beamed Dawn.

"Who would have thought Dawn would have a real boyfriend before either of us?" said Marica, shaking her head. "I mean, what does he see in her?"

"Hey!" said Dawn, hitting Marica with one of the couch cushions.

"What does _she_ see in _him_?" said Lily.

"He's sweet and cute and funny and nice and adorable and friendly..." gushed Dawn.

"You only started liking the guy yesterday!" said Marica.

"So?" said Dawn.

*****BWST*****

By the next morning it was all around the school, or at least the portion of the school that cared: Andrew Davies and Dawn Hartly were officially an item. One had to admit that they made a very cute couple. No one was even jealous really, since neither Andrew nor Dawn was really the "hottie" type by any standard. James gave them a half-joking but very stern lecture on not messing up the Quidditch team by breaking up, and Andrew's sixth year cousin Hettie told Dawn that she'd better not break Andrew's heart, but the school as a whole seemed highly in favor of the match.

Dawn herself was in seventh heaven. From his straw-like hair to his goofy laugh, everything about Andrew was just perfect according to her.

"What happened to Andy Hoarman?" teased Marica. "I thought you were all for the rugged, manly type."

Dawn waved her hand dismissively. "Andy Hoarman's my favorite _celebrity_, Andrew's my _boyfriend_."

*****BWST*****

Lily and Marica were very happy for Dawn, and they couldn't help liking Andrew, but Dawn having a boyfriend did throw a bit of a wrench into their little trio.

"Come on, Lily, Dawn," said Marica after dinner. "Let's go to the library to work on that Transfiguration essay."

"Sorry, I can't," said Dawn. "Andrew and I are going to work on it together. See you later."

"Wonder how much work they're actually going to get done," said Lily skeptically as the two walked off arm in arm. "Oh well. The three of us can go."

"Three?" said Marica.

"Yeah. You, me, and Cassiopeia."

Marica shrugged. "Okay then. Let's go girls."

The three girls went to the library, found seats near the back, and pulled out their homework.

"I don't even know where to start," said Lily after staring at her paper for a few minutes.

"What's it supposed to be about?" said Cassiopeia curiously, leaning over to look at Lily's assignment.

"The definition of the designation 'Transfiguration'."

"Oooo, interesting!" said Cassiopeia.

"Interesting?" said Lily. "More like boring."

"No it's not!" said Cassiopeia. "I've always wondered just what the term Transfiguration encompasses and why. Too bad it's fourth year work, it's so much more interesting than what we're doing."

"I'd rather cast spells than study their classification," said Lily. "And charms are much more fun than transfiguring things."

"If you like casting spells so much then how come Potions is your favorite class?" asked Cassiopeia. "There's no spell casting there."

"I've asked her that before," said Marica.

"I don't know, I just find the whole process of putting all of the different ingredients together to create something new fascinating and rewarding," said Lily and Marica at the same time.

Lily made a face at Marica, who smirked.

Cassiopeia giggled.

"So, what homework do you have then?" Lily asked her.

"Potions," she said dismally.

"I love Potions!" exclaimed Lily.

"No, really?" said Cassiopeia and Marica at the same time.

Lily ignored them. "Let me see," she said. "What's it about?"

"The benefits of using fresh daisy roots over dried ones," said Cassiopeia without enthusiasm.

"But that's easy!" exclaimed Lily and launched into an in-depth comparison between fresh and dried daisy roots.

*****BWST*****

October came, and with the weather did a complete 180. Summer seemed to have remembered that it hadn't quite finished yet, and presented them with warm, balmy days full of lazy sunshine and soft breezes. The students stared longingly out the windows during their lessons, and one or another of the House teams could almost always been seen practicing on the the Quidditch pitch after lessons.

This meant that Dawn and Andrew were suddenly very busy with something other than snogging and giggling, though they somehow managed to fit plenty of that in as well.

"Get a room!" said Marica as she, Lily, and Cassiopeia walked into the common room and found Dawn sitting in Andrew's lap on one of the chairs by the fire. "Or at least another chair."

"Aw, I think it's kind of cute," said James, who was sitting with his own girlfriend, Analise Vanders, on one of the red-and-gold couches.

"You wouldn't think it was so cute if it were Lily and some boy," said Marica slyly.

"I'd hex him into next century if he wasn't good enough for her," said James, brandishing his wand."But it's okay, 'cause no guy has Lily's eye right now, do they, Lils?"

Lily blushed. _"Ja-ames!"_

"_Do they?"_

"No!"

"That's what I thought," said James in a satisfied tone.

"Your brother's so cool," commented Tamzen, joining them.

"_Way_ out of your league, Tam," said Brandi, coming up beside her.

_And otherwise engaged_, thought Cassiopeia, as James latched his mouth onto his girlfriend's and twisted his fingers in her hair. _Who needs a room now?_

*****BWST*****

The first Hogsmeade trip was, as always, scheduled for the Saturday before Halloween. Cassiopeia, being only a second year, still could not go, but Lily, Marica, Dawn, Andrew, Rose, and River were planning on making a party of it. Lily had invited Hugo to come along, but he had declined, saying that he, Albus, and Scorpius had plans to go to the Hogshead.

"Suit yourself," said Lily a little peevishly. "Go be their page-boy," she muttered to herself.

"Page boy?" said Cassiopeia.

"It's what they treat him as," said Lily. "What they'd treat _me_ as if I let them."

"You're not a boy," Cassiopeia observed.

"Ha ha," said Lily. "Page-girl then."

Don't you love your brother?" asked Cassiopeia, who, of course, adored her own brother.

"Of course I do," said Lily. "He's my big brother! But he gets on my damn nerves sometimes. And I _don't_ like your brother. Sorry."

Cassiopeia cocked her head. Most people were a little awed, or at least impressed, by her brother, whether favorably or less-than-favorably, but Lily seemed throughly unaffected by him other than to be profoundly annoyed by his antics. Cassiopeia consented that brothers in general, hers among them, could often be annoying, and the fact that Scorpius didn't seem to impress Lily in the slightest itself impressed Cassiopeia.

"Come on, Lily," said Dawn. "Earth to Lily. Hogsmeade, remember? Let's go!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," said Lily. She turned back to Cassiopeia. "Sorry you can't come," she said.

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Next year," she said.

"See you," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

"She talks now," observed Dawn as the six of them entered Hogsmeade twenty minutes later.

"Huh?" said Lily.

"Little Malfoy. She talks now."

"Only to Lily," said Marica.

"Hey...that's true," said Dawn. "Why does she only talk to you?"

Lily shrugged. "She's shy."

"But why you?"

Lily shrugged again. "I dunno. But she's actually cool once you get to know her. She has things to say she just...has trouble saying them."

River cleared his throat loudly. "Do you want to go look at Honeydukes?" he asked, taking Lily's arm.

"Yes!" said Dawn, pumping her fist in the air.

Andrew rolled his eyes at her and tickled her.

"He-e-ey!" she squealed.

"Yeah, let's go," said Rose. "I'm running low on ice mice."

The five Gryffindors and River went into the store and eagerly began perusing the many different kinds of sweets on display there. Dawn, of course, bought the most of all of them, closely followed by Andrew. When the two of them began feeding each other chocolate bonbons, the others made an executive decision that it was time to go somewhere else. It was getting near lunch time, but after eating so many sweets none of them were hungry, so they decided to go clothes shopping instead. Well, the girls decided to go clothes shopping. They just dragged the boys along.

*****BWST*****

"How does this look?" asked Dawn, coming out of the dressing room in a hot-pink, lower-thigh-length bubble skirt and a matching rib-cage jacket.

"Adorable!" pronounced Andrew.

"Do you think I should buy it?" she asked, doing a twirl on the spot.

"Do _you_ like it?" he asked

She nodded.

"Then yes."

"What do you think, Lily? Marica? Rose?" she asked, turning to the other girls.

"Nice," said Rose.

"Very you," said Lily.

"I like it on you," said Marica.

"I'll buy it!" said Dawn.

Lily, meanwhile, was looking at a blue-and-white three-quarter sleeve silk peasant shirt and a calf-length green mermaid skirt. She usually wasn't that into skirts for every day wear, but sometimes she did enjoy getting dressed up in nicely.

She went into the dressing room and tried on the outfit, then came out to show her friends.

"Wow," said River.

"Lily, you look awesome in that!" said Marica.

"Oooooh!" said Dawn. "Totally!"

"Wow," said River.

"Lily, that's really nice," said Rose. "I really like it on you."

"They're right," agreed Andrew.

"Wow," said River.

"Should I get it?" she asked, examining herself in the mirror. "I don't usually go for skirts, but..."

"Yes!" all five of them said.

"Okay, okay!" she said, throwing up her hands. "I do like it. A lot. I'll get it."

Lily ended up completing the outfit with a pair of white, beaded dress-sandals and a pair of blue-and-green earrings that hung just half an inch below her earlobes.

Marica, who was saving her money up for an eagle owl, a great horned owl, or a snowy owl, she hadn't decided which, didn't buy anything, but Rose bought a new purple and red shoulder bag and a pair of gold hoop earrings.

*****BWST*****

Once they had all made their purchases, the group made their way over the to the Three Broomsticks for lunch and butterbeers.

"When am I going to have a chance to wear my new outfit, though?" said Lily. "It's not something I can just wear any day."

"Wait till you get a date," suggested Marica.

"Knowing Lily she'll have outgrown it by then," said Dawn. "you could wear it to the feast tomorrow night."

"That's not a dressy event," said Rose. "You should save it Lily. Something will come up I'm sure."

"Maybe sooner than you think," added River, looking at her intently.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Rose, Marica, Dawn, Andrew, and River made their way back to Hogwarts that evening just in time for dinner. After bidding goodbye to River, the rest of them sat down at the Gryffindor table ready to eat heartily; their lunch at the Three Broomsticks seemed like it had been ages ago.

Lily slid into her customary seat beside Cassiopeia, who was already at the table.

"You were almost late," said the littler girl in mock reproach.

"I had to put away the outfit I bought," Lily explained.

"Oooh," said Cassiopeia. "What does it look like?"

"I'll show it to you after dinner if you want," said Lily.

"Cool," said Cassiopeia.

"Apparently I look really good in it," said Lily.

"Why else would you buy it?" said Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Marica, Dawn, Andrew, and Rose were all quite content with the day they had just spent and very tired from shopping all day long. After dinner they and Cassiopeia continued up to Gryffindor Tower to turn in early, since they knew they would be up very late the next night.

"If anyone wakes me up tomorrow I'll hex them," Lily informed the other girls and she sat down on her bed and pulled off her shoes.

"Ditto," said Dawn and Marica at the same time.

"Wouldn't like be, like, tritto or something?" asked Tamzen.

"Tritto? What the hell?" said Brandi.

"You know, like ditto, only for the third person."

"You make no sense, Tam," Brandi informed her.

"I do too, I—"

*Tap tap tap*

Lily looked up.

"Come in," she and the rest of her dorm-mates chorused.

A small, platinum-blond head peered around the door.

"Oh, hi Lit—Cassiopeia," said Lily. "What is it?"

"You told me you'd show me your new outfit," said Cassiopeia, feeling tongue-tied in front of so many older girls.

"Yeah!" said Brandi. "Marica said it was gorgeous. Come on, show us!"

"Yeah, we want to see it," agreed Paloma and Tamzen.

"Alright, alright, I'll get it," said Lily, opening her trunk and pulling out the precisely folded skirt and top.

She began to unfold them but Paloma said, "No, no, put them _on_ and then show us."

So Lily climbed onto her bed, pulled the curtains, and changed into her new outfit, complete with shoes and earrings. Then she stepped out into the room.

Cassiopeia's eyes widened. Lily did look amazing in that outfit. Lily Potter wasn't really considered one of the prettiest girls at Hogwarts, though she wasn't bad looking, but Cassiopeia thought some people might just change their opinion if they could see Lily like this. Usually the older girl dressed inconspicuously and simply and didn't do much to draw attention to herself, though she didn't intentionally fade into the background like Cassiopeia did.

Lily smiled at her friends' reactions.

"You like it?"

"Like it?" said Brandi. "I love it!"

"Spin around," ordered Tamzen.

Lily obliged. Dawn and Marica, who had already seen the outfit, were also enjoying the other girls' reactions.

"When are you going to wear it?" asked Paloma.

"I don't know," said Lily. "I don't really have a good occasion to right now, but if one comes up I'll definitely wear it.

"You'd better!" said Tamzen.

Cassiopeia nodded in agreement. The outfit was just the kind of thing she would have picked out for Lily, it just looked so _her_, and Cassiopeia had pretty good fashion sense, if she did say so herself. She just didn't employ it all that often.

*****BWST*****

Everyone slept in the next day, but Cassiopeia still woke significantly before anyone else in her dormitory. Knowing that Lily and her friends wouldn't be awake yet, she made her way down to the Great Hall on her own.

When she got there she glanced toward the Slytherin table, but was unsurprised to see that Scorpius was absent. He was the kind of person who could sleep until one in the afternoon if given the chance.

Dumping a liberal amount of brown sugar on top of her oatmeal, Cassiopeia began to eat at a leisurely pace, savoring the taste of one of her favorite breakfast foods. Scorpius preferred things like waffles and pancakes, but Cassiopeia found those a little too heavy, and they tended to get soggy when you doused them with enough syrup to make them sweet enough. Cassiopeia was much more of an oatmeal or crepes kind of girl. Light and sugary. Yum.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia was still sitting at the Gryffindor table, now working busily on an elaborate piece of braiding, when Lily, Dawn, and Marica came down to breakfast two hours later.

"Little—Cassiopeia?" said Lily in surprise. "How long have you been here?"

Cassiopeia glanced at her watch. "About two hours," she said. "I didn't realize it had been so long."

"What are you working on, anyways?" Lily asked.

"A plait," said Cassiopeia, holding up her work so Lily could see it. It was a myriad of different shades of blue woven artfully together to resemble undulating water.

Lily looked at it appreciatively. "Wow, that looks really complicated," she said. "What's it for?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Nothing in particular. They just look pretty."

"Oh," said Lily. "Well, they certainly do."

*********BWST*********

As the sun was still shining outside, though the temperature had begun to fall slightly in the last few days, the four girls decided to spend their Halloween afternoon outside.

Unfortunately, their day in Hogsmead the day before forced Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Andrew, who had joined them, to use this time to work on their weekend homework. Cassiopeia, who had finished her homework while the older students were in Hogsmeade, lay on her stomach on the grass, making daisy chains and humming to herself, swinging her legs in time with the tune.

After a while, River came over and joined them.

"Hey, girls," he said, sitting down next to Lily. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much," Lily responded. "Homework. Enjoying the sunshine."

"It is a lovely day today, isn't it?" said River.

"Probably one of the last of the year," agreed Marica.

"What homework are you doing?" River asked Lily. "Arithmancy? Maybe I can help."

"I think I've got it," said Lily. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"Hi, Lily," said her cousin Louis as he crossed the lawn in front of the tree they were sitting under.

"Hey, Louis, come and join us," said Marica. "There're more girls than boys and I'm the only one who hasn't got one."

"I haven't either," commented Cassiopeia from the grass.

"Oh, I forgot you were there, Little Malfoy," said Marica.

"And Dawn's the only one who's got a boy," said Lily. "River doesn't belong to me. He's just here."

"Well, I'll join you lovely ladies for a minute anyways," said Louis, sitting down, and batting his eyelashes at Marica.

She giggled.

"Mon cherie," he added, picking up her hand and kissing it.

"Oh stop that," she said. "I didn't mean it _that_ way."

"Who said I did?" asked Louis. "Don't flatter yourself." he turned to Cassiopeia and kissed her hand as well. "Mon cherie," he said.

Cassiopeia giggled shyly.

"Keep your hands off her, Louis," Lily admonished. "She's twelve!"

Louis threw up his hands in surrender. "I just can't please, can I?" he said.

*****BWST*****

At seven o'clock the Hogwarts students excitedly filed into the great Hall for the Halloween feast. The decorations were, as usual, amazing. Four humongous jack-o-lanterns leered at them from each of the corners of the Hall, live bats flew over their heads, real spider webs hung on the walls, and orange and black streamers and balloons draped over the furniture and hovered in midair.

"Food!" said Dawn as the golden platters in front of them filled.

"Enjoy the feast!" said Professor Vector, sitting down in his seat at the head table.

"Here here!" cried the students, piling their plates with delicious food.

"I love feasts," said Andrew.

"Me too!" said Dawn.

"Awwwww," said Marica. "The perfect couple. United by their stomachs."

Dawn jabbed Marica with her soup spoon.

"Hey!"

Cassiopeia saw something going on at the Slytherin table out of the corner of her eye and turned to look.

"Lily," she said, tugging on her friend's sleeve. "Lily, I think you might want to duck."

"Why?" said Lily, confused.

"Because—"

"FOOD FIGHT!" yelled Scorpius Malfoy from the Slytherin table.

"Malfoy!" yelled Lily angrily as she ducked just in time. A miniature chicken pot-pie sailed over her head.

Cassiopeia just shook her head and ducked under the table. She didn't particularly fancy getting pudding in her hair as a result of her dear brother's sense of humor.

*****BWST*****

As no one could prove who had actually started the food fight, no one had gotten in trouble for it. This made Lily furious. It was certainly a good thing that she had decided not to wear her new outfit to the feast, she thought as she charmed sweet potato stains out of her robes that night. Or there would be hell to pay. _She_ knew who had started the food fight, but she didn't have any evidence, and even if she did she wasn't going to rat them out. That would be low, even if she did want to give Scorpius Malfoy a good healthy kick in the arse. Really though, usually Albus and Scorpius were a little more original than a food fight. This wasn't even funny! It just made a terrible mess. Stupid sweet potato.

**AN: I hope you liked it. The little tidbits about Cassiopeia that I keep dropping weren't planned, I was just writing and I ended up writing in something else about her personality. I think it works though. I'm glad when see that more people are reading this, makes me happy. Could more readers possibly equal more reviews? Just saying. No pressure, but I do enjoy reading them.**

**-SQ**


	12. Chapter 12: La Partie Ensemble

**AN: Next chapter, I hope you like it. I meant it to cover more than just the month of November but then it didn't. Oh well.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: By now you really should know that I don't own Harry Potter**

**Chapter Twelve: La Partie Ensemble**

November arrived, and with it came an end to the sun-filled days of October. A chill crept through the castle, and frost appeared on the lawn every morning. Students could be seen bundling into their cloaks when they had to go outside for Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures.

Lily hated the cold. Absolutely hated it. It wasn't that she minded snow, though she didn't love it like some people, but cold she could not stand. And when it came without at least the compensation of a beautiful snowfall, that was the worst.

"Why does it have to be so _cold_?" Lily asked grumpily as she, Dawn, and Marica walked back from the greenhouses one afternoon.

"'Cause it's November?" Dawn suggested, earning her a whack from Lily.

"Hey!"

"Sometimes I think I should move to the tropics," said Lily as they started toward their dormitory.

"Too hot," proclaimed Marica.

"Better than too cold," said Lily.

"Not necessarily," said Cassiopeia, coming up beside them and making all three older girls jump, "you can always put on another coat. There's only so much you can take off."

Lily blushed while her two friends laughed.

"It's all very well for you," she said. "You've been in the castle all day, I had two classes outside."

Cassiopeia just shrugged.

The four girls rounded the corner and Lily groaned. Four more people were coming toward them down the corridor. Hugo was talking excitedly to Albus. And Scorpius appeared to be deep in conversation with—

"_Rose?"_

"What?" said Rose, looking at Lily.

"What are you doing with _them_?"

Rose raised her eyebrows. Well, if you hadn't noticed, Al is my cousin and Hugo is my brother. And Al, Scorpius and I just had Charms together.

"But—but—" said Lily.

"Just because you don't like Scorpius doesn't mean the rest of us have to hate him too, you know," said Rose, sounding just a bit annoyed. "And you _are_ friends with his little sister."

Lily opened her mouth, but Cassiopeia prodded her in the back. "Come on, Lily," she said. "Don't you have that History of Magic essay to finish?"

_*****_BWST_*****_

Lily and Louis both were baffled by the apparent addition of Rose to the Dynamic Slytherin Duo. Admittedly, Rose had always been fairly close with Albus, and they were in the same year, but they rarely hung out together in school. And while Rose had never hated Scorpius like Lily and Louis had, she had never been particularly friendly with him either. Seeing as they were in N.E.W.T classes now, Rose had all of her classes with Albus and Scorpius except for Muggle Studies, which neither of them were taking, so that could account for it. Rose and Scorpius were also both prefects this year (which made Lily angry, since Scorpius got into far too much trouble for him to be made a prefect in her opinion). But still, Lily had always thought of Rose as hanging out more with her than with Albus, and certainly more than with Scorpius.

As for Hugo, he clung on to the edges of the duo as hard as ever, and recently he seemed to be getting more successful in his attempts to join in with them. Hugo, of course, was thrilled by this, but Lily was not. Their time together, already limited by being in rival houses, was diminished even more and, although she and Hugo had been drifting apart for several years, ever since they came to Hogwarts, Lily still felt keenly this further loss of her closest cousin. Her two closest cousins really.

_*****_BWST_*****_

"Hugo, hey, Hugo!" said Lily, running to catch up with her cousin in the corridor.

"Oh, hey Lily," he said. "How are you?"

"Pretty good," she said. "Do you have a minute?"

Hugo glanced over his shoulder at Albus and Scorpius. "Er—sure, if it's quick."

"It's just that I don't see you very often since we're in different houses and all," said Lily, "and I wanted to get together to hang out some time. You know, like we used to."

"Er—" said Hugo, glancing over his shoulder again, "Lily, I'd love to, I really would, but I don't know when I'll have much time, I'm pretty busy. I'll see you around, though, okay?" And he hurried down the corridor after Albus and Scorpius.

_*****_BWST_*****_

"Lily," said Cassiopeia, looking up from her work and leaning over toward her friend. "What's wrong?"

"What?" said Lily. "Nothing's wrong, I—"

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes, a habit she had apparently picked up from Lily. "Lily, don't tell me nothing's wrong. I may be a second year, but I'm not stupid. I can_ see_ that you're upset. What is it?"

Lily glared at Cassiopeia half-heartedly. "It is nothing, really," she said. "I just...Hugo and I were always really close, you know, especially before we came to Hogwarts. We did everything together. In some ways he was more like my brother than James or Al. And recently...I guess we just don't have that much in common anymore." She sighed.

Cassiopeia touched her friend on the arm. "It'll be okay," she said. "You're still cousins. You'll be that no matter what. The holidays are next month, you can catch up with him then."

"I know," said Lily. "You're right. It's just hard to grow up sometimes I guess."

Cassiopeia laughed her rare, bell-like laugh. "Tell me about it."

*****BWST*****

"Hey, ladies," said Louis, coming up between Dawn and Marica and slinging his arms around their shoulders.

The girls giggled.

Lily and Cassiopeia, walking ahead, turned to look at them.

"You are such a shameless flirt," said Lily, shaking her head at her cousin.

"Better than a shameful one," said Louis, flashing a dazzling smile.

Lily rolled her eyes. Cassiopeia giggled.

Louis was really a terrible flirt and, being one eighth veela, he had the girls all over him. He had yet to get really serious about one however. He never went too far though; played with their affections, yes, took advantage of them, no.

"What's up, little cuz and friends?" said Louis dropping the debonair attitude in the company of his younger cousin and her best friends.

"Not much," said Lily, shrugging. "The usual school stuff: homework, classes, friends..."

"In that order, of course," said Louis grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes and gave her cousin a whack on the arm.

"How about you?" she asked him.

"Oh, you know, girls, friends, girls, class, girls, hanging out, girls, homework...oh, and girls."

Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia all laughed again.

"Breaking more hearts than ever, I see," said Lily.

"You see much of Hugo or Rose lately?" said Louis.

Lily's smile turned into a scowl. "No. They spend all their time hanging out with Al and Malfoy," she said.

Louis scowled too at the thought of the other blond boy. It was commonly believed (probably correctly) that a lot of Louis Weasley's and Scorpius Malfoy's animosity toward each other was due to the fact that they were the two heartbreaking blonds of the school and so in competition for the girl market.

"Forget about them," said Louis, waving an airy hand. "Do you have plans for next weekend?"

"No, not particularly," said Lily.

"Well, some of my friends and I are having a party of sorts Saturday evening," said Louis. "Nothing big, just a few of us getting together for a good time. Mostly it's just for fifth and sixth years, but I'll make and exception for my favorite baby cousin and her friends.

Lily whacked him again. "I'm only a year younger than you, you twit. What about Cassiopeia?" she asked. "She's only a second year."

Louis looked down at the small girl, considering. "Well...usually I wouldn't want a second year at my party...especially one related to Scorpius Malfoy, who most certainly is _not_ invited, but seeing as she's one of your friends..." he bent down. "How would you like to come to a party on Saturday, mademoiselle?" he said, bowing elegantly over her hand.

She blushed, a smile tugging at her lips. "I'd love to, monsieur," she said, bobbing a little elegant curtsy.

Louis beamed. "I'm starting to like your little friend," he said to Lily. "See you girls Saturday night then."

"Wait, Louis!" said Lily. "Where's the party?"

"Oh, yes," he said. "You know the empty classroom at the end of the Charms corridor? The really big one that nobody uses anymore? That's where it'll be. See you there!"

*****BWST*****

The rest of the week went by. Louis waylaid them in the common room on Friday evening to tell them that it was going to be a semi-dress party and they should look nice. Marica, Dawn, and Cassiopeia all turned to Lily at the same time and exclaimed, "your blue and green outfit!" And so it was settled.

*****BWST*****

On Saturday morning Lily, Dawn, and Marica were heading down to breakfast when Lily suddenly stopped. "Wait, where's Cassiopeia?" she asked, looking around herself. The younger girl was nowhere to be seen.

Dawn and Marica looked around too and shrugged.

"I dunno," said Dawn. "I didn't see her this morning."

"I did I think," said Marica, "in the common room. But that was when we first came down."

"I'm gonna go back and see what's up," said Lily. "You girls go on ahead. We'll catch you up in a minute."

Dawn and Marica continued down the staircase while Lily turned around and went back through the portrait hole into the common room.

She looked around the room but couldn't see the Cassiopeia anywhere. After double-checking the blond's favorite armchair by the fire the started up the stairs to the girls' dormitories, beginning to feel a little bit concerned by her friend's absence.

"Cassiopeia?" called Lily, tapping softly on the door to the second years' dormitory. "Are you there?"

There was a short silence and Lily was about to knock again when a small, slightly choked voice came from inside the room.

"Lily?"

Lily turned the door handle and looked into the room. Cassiopeia was sitting on one of the beds. The bed covers and the things all around it were in disarray, as if someone had been frantically searching through them. Cassiopeia lifted her pale head from her knees and Lily saw tear streaks staining her thin cheeks.

"Cassiopeia?" said Lily again. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

She walked over to the younger girl and sat down next to her.

Cassiopeia sniffled, embarrassed to be caught by Lily while crying like a little girl.

"It's nothing really," she said, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. "I just—I can't find my necklace..."

"Your necklace?"

"My special necklace," the little girl. "Sc-Sc-Scorpius gave it to me and I alw-w-ways wear it and I t-t-took it off for just a m-m-minute and now I can't f-f-find it!" Humiliatingly, she began to cry again.

Instead of laughing at her or treating her like a baby, Lily put her arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "That doesn't sound like nothing to me. What does this necklace look like? Maybe I can help you find it."

"It has a s-s-silver chain and has an em-m-merald set in a silver b-b-backing. When you l-l-look into it you can see the constellation Cassiopeia. I was Sc-Sc-Scorpius's first p-p-present to me. I know you d-d-don't l-l-like him b-b-but he's m-m-my b-b-big b-b-brother and—"

"Shhh," said Lily, giving the younger girl's shoulders a squeeze. "I understand. Where do you think you lost it?"

Cassiopeia bit her lip. "I think—I think one of the other girls t-t-took it..."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"N-no but...Celia MacDougal c-commented on it and then was acting all s-secretive and gl-gloating this morning..."

"Little sneak," said Lily, a different, four-letter word stating with B forming in her mind. "If it's in here I'll find it," she told Cassiopeia confidently.

"How?" asked the smaller girl.

Lily grinned. "We just learned a new spell in Charms. A Summoning Charm. Watch." She pulled out her wand and flicked it at the room. _"Accio Cassiopeia's special necklace!"_

For a moment nothing happened, and the two girls' faces fell, but then the latch on a small jewelry box sitting beside one of the other girls' beds popped open and something silver and green flew across the room into Lily's outstretched hand.

"Is this what you were looking for?" said Lily, tipping the object into Cassiopeia's hand.

"My necklace!" said Cassiopeia happily. "You found it! Thank you!" And she threw her arms around Lily and gave her a hug.

Lily hugged her back. "No problem. I'll make sure to have talk with Celia MacDougal..." She offered her hand to the other girl and helped her up off the bed. "Come on, Cassiopeia, let's go to breakfast, Marica and Dawn are waiting for us."

"Yeah, let's go," said Cassiopeia, taking Lily's hand and standing up. "And, Lily," she added with some of her old shyness. "You can call me Cassie. My—well, my brother does. My friends would if I had any besides you."

Lily smiled. "All right, Cassie, let's go down to breakfast; I'm starving!"

*****BWST*****

After dinner that evening Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia hurried back up to their dormitories to get ready for Louis's party. The other Gryffindor third year girls, especially Tamzen, were quite jealous of Lily, Dawn, and Marica as they watched them dress for the party.

"It isn't fair," complained Tamzen, sprawled moodily on her bed. "All the hottest upper year guys will be there, and we won't!"

"Don't you _have_ a boyfriend, Tamzen?" Lily asked as she applied some glittery blue/green eyeshadow to her eyelids. She had borrowed it from Domi for the occasion.

"Yeah," said Tamzen casually, "but if I found someone better..."

Dawn finished zipping up her high-healed, calf-length sparkly white boots under her new, hot pink bubble skirt.

"How do I look?" she asked.

Marica, who was dressed in an orange, knee-length, short-sleeved dress, looked her over. "Cute," she said. She finished tying the last cornrow braid in her hair. "Let's go."

The three girls left the room and headed down the stairs. They stopped at the second years' landing.

"Just a minute," said Lily. "I'll see if Cassie's ready."

She knocked on the door.

"Cassie? It's time to go."

"Just a second," said Cassiopeia. A moment later she came to the door.

"Hey, you look nice!" said Lily.

Cassiopeia was dressed in a pair of light denim pedal-pushers and a ruby red v-neck sweater. A gold belt encircled her slim hips and her long pale hair was braided down her back with several gold and ruby ribbons. There was a light dusting of pale gold on her lips and eyelids and her green and silver necklace glittered at her throat, a nice contrast to her blatantly Gryffindor color-scheme.

Cassiopeia smiled at the surprise in Lily's voice. "Thanks," she said. "So do you."

"Dawn and Marica are waiting on the landing," said Lily. "I'll, er, be there in a second, okay?"

Cassiopeia gave her a searching look, following her gaze into the dormitory.

"All right," she said, getting a pretty good idea of what was going on in the older girl's mind.

As Cassiopeia rounded the corner Lily stepped into the second year dormitory. There were eight beds inside, four of which were currently occupied by twelve and thirteen-year-old girls.

Lily cleared her throat. "Does one of you happen to be Celia MacDougal?" she asked.

A weedy-looking girl with black hair and too much make-up looked up from her magazine.

"Yeah, that's me," said the girl. "What d'you want?"

"I just wanted to warn you," said Lily, locking her brown eyes with the girl's hazel ones. "That in Gryffindor House we don't settle our differences by taking each others' things. If you want to do that maybe you'd be better off in Slytherin. Or in pre-school."

The second year's cheeks went even redder under her bright rouge. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," said Lily. "But might I suggest a little chat with Jonah Belinski? He might be able to clear up what I'm talking about." And with that she turned on her heal and exited the dorm.

Grinning to herself, Cassiopeia scuttled away from the door and back around the corner before Lily saw her.

"All right, girls," Lily said, arriving back at the landing just after an innocent looking Cassiopeia. "Off to the party!"

*****BWST*****

The party was already going when they arrived. Louis's "small" gathering consisted of roughly 80 students. Every Gryffindor fifth year and almost every Gryffindor sixth year was there, most of the Ravenclaw fifth years and many of the sixth years, and about half of the Hufflepuff fifth years and a good number of their sixth years too. There were even a couple of Slytherins. James was also there, along with one or two other seventh years. As Lily watched James knock back something that she was pretty sure wasn't butterbeer, she was reminded of the probable reason that her brother had not been made Head Boy. He was very driven, and could be quite responsible, hence being made a prefect, but he had a reckless side too, which had a tendency to get him into trouble, especially when he was younger. James was nowhere near as bad as Albus of course, but he was no saint either.

"Lily! Dawn! Marica! Cassiopeia!" said Louis, bowing to them. "Welcome, bienvenue, willkommen, benvenuto." He ushered them in with a wave of his blue-silk-suited arm.

Cassiopeia looked around, her eyes wide. The only parties she had been to before were her mother's social functions, full of middle-aged couples who glided around pretending to like each other and gossiping about other guests behind their backs. She didn't know how to act at a party like this. She looked toward Lily for guidance.

"Food!" squealed Dawn, pointing at the refreshments table. She dragged the other three behind her.

"Care more about food than about me?" said a teasing voice.

"Andrew!" said Dawn, throwing her arms around her boyfriend. He popped a cream puff into her mouth.

"Yum!"

Lily, Marica, and Cassiopeia laughed.

"Hey, Lily," said another voice. River had come up beside them.

"Hi River," said Lily.

"Want to dance?" he asked.

"Er—okay," said Lily, not knowing what else to say.

River put his large hands on her hips and she put hers on his shoulders and they swayed back and forth, moving toward and away from each other in time to the music. Each time they did this they seemed to get a little closer overall, until their bodies were almost touching by the end of the song.

"Thanks," said Lily, smiling at River as she walked back to her friends when the song was over. "That was fun."

"Want to dance another one?" the boy said hopefully.

"Nah," said Lily. "I'm gonna have some punch."

"I'll get it for you," said River.

"It's okay," said Lily. "I can get it."

"You _can't_ be that oblivious!" said Marica as Lily ladled herself some punch and sipped it, noting with relief that it hadn't been spiked with anything yet. "He totally likes you!"

"I've told you," said Lily, "it's not like that between us."

"Well, he'd certainly like it to be," muttered Marica.

Cassiopeia was about to agree, but their attention was diverted by a commotion near the door.

"Excuse me, this party is by invitation only," said Louis's smooth voice, underlaid with severe annoyance.

"You invited me," said a voice that Lily recognized as Albus's.

"Yeah, I invited _you_, not _him_," said Louis.

The scene cleared a bit and Lily and Cassiopeia could see Albus and Scorpius standing in the doorway, confronted by a severely pissed-off looking Louis.

"Aw, come on, Louis," said Albus. "Where I go, Scorp goes. We're a team, you know?"

"Besides," said Scorpius, smiling lazily. "There's room enough for everyone. No need to start a scene."

Louis glowered.

"Aw, come on, Lou," said a girl, coming up and batting her eyelashes at Louis. "Let them in."

"Yeah, man, Malfoy's right, plenty of room for all," said another guy.

Looking around the room and seeing that this was the general consensus of the crowd, Louis grudgingly stepped aside to allow the two Slytherins entrance.

"Bugger," muttered Lily.

Trying to divert her friend's attention from glaring at her brother, Cassiopeia said, "Lily, will you teach me how to dance?"

Lily looked at her in surprise. "Sure," she said. "It's not too hard. Here, since you're shorter put your hands on my waist like this, and I'll put my hands on yours shoulders. Then we just kind of move to the music, feel the beat."

At first Cassiopeia felt very self-conscious as she stood in the middle of the floor and tired to move with the music, but as she got more comfortable she found that it really wasn't that hard. She had always had a pretty good sense of rhythm, and the music had a nice back beat. Focusing on Lily rather than all the other students surrounding her, Cassiopeia let herself relax and enjoy the music and dancing.

"You're a good dancer, Cassie," said Lily when the song was over and they stepped away from each other.

"You think so?" said Cassiopeia, feeling pleased.

"Definitely," said Lily.

"Thanks," said Cassiopeia.

Louis danced by, his arms wrapped around the girl who had batted her eyelashes at him earlier.

"Bonjour mes jeunes dames ravissantes, comment vos individus magnifiques vont-ils cette belle nuit?"

"Vous flirt idiot," said Lily.

"Merci très bien, en se précipitant monsieur," said Cassiopeia.

"Vous parlez français?" said Lily in surprise.

"Oui, ma famille voyage en France chaque année en vacances. Je l'ai toujours parlé. Je parle également allemand et l'espagnol et de italien, danois, et Suédois. Vous?"

"Je parle français fluent, nous tous faisons en raison de ma tante Fleur. Mais je ne peux pas sembler maîtriser toutes les autres langues." Lily had a sudden idea. "Pourriez-vous m'enseigner?"

"Naturellement!" said Cassiopeia. "Je suis très bon aux langues. J'aimerais vous aider."

"Er—Lily, Cassiopeia," said Marica, tapping Lily on the shoulder. "We lost you at 'Vous parlez français.' Can you speak English please?"

"Oh, sorry," said Lily. "Cassie was just telling me that her family goes on holiday to France every year and that's why she speaks French, and I was telling her that my family speaks French because of Aunt Fleur. She also said she speaks German and Spanish as well as some Italian, Danish, and Swedish. She's going to help me learn some more languages since she's good at them and I'm having trouble."

"Cool," said Dawn. "But let's stick to English for now. My brain hurts. This is a party, not a foreign linguistics class. Merlin, I can't believe I even know that word! Too much time around Marica and Rose."

"Speaking of Rose, where is she?" Lily asked her cousin, scanning the room.

Louis scowled. "Over there," he said, jerking his head toward the other side of the room.

Rose was perched on the arm of a couch which contained Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. Lily did a double-take: Rose was wearing a shimmery purple and red hip-hugging skirt and a low-cut purple spaghetti-strap tank top with a thin black jacket over it. Her red curly hair was clipped back with two purple butterfly barrettes and she was wearing high-healed red sandals. She was leaning over to talk to Malfoy so that her red heart-shaped pendant dangled in front of his face.

"What is Rose _wearing_?" said Lily in shock, watching her cousin. She looked so...grown up.

Louis shrugged. "Party clothes. Which are totally wasted talking to Malfoy instead of dancing with some guy. Pity she's my cousin."

His dance partner plucked at his sleeve. "Come on, Lou," she said, pouting prettily, "we still have to finish our dance."

"Naturellement, mademoiselle," said Louis, and walked away with the girl hanging on his arm.

"Excuse me," said tall, heavyset Hufflepuff, shyly meeting Marica's eyes. "Would you—er—care to dance?"

"Alright," said Marica, smiling at him. She waved to Lily and then walked away toward the rest of the dancers.

Lily and Cassiopeia glanced at each other.

"You want to dance again?" said Lily.

"Sure," said Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

It was almost two in the morning when the party finally broke up and the guests made their ways back to their respective dormitories. Cassiopeia was nearly asleep on her feet as she followed Lily, Dawn, and Marica up to Gryffindor tower and then climbed into her own bed. The other girls in her dormitory were already asleep, so they couldn't resume their barrage of questioning as to where she had been going. Cassiopeia grinned even as she felt herself drifting off into slumber. That was the most fun she had had in a long while.

**AN: I hope you liked it. This was a fun chapter to write, not for any particular reason, it just was. The party especially. I liked describing what they were wearing, even though it really wasn't too important. Anyways, I'm sorry if the French has any errors in it. I don't speak French, I used an online translator. :P**

**-SQ**


	13. Chapter 13: Happy Holidays

**AN: Here's a nice long chapter about the Christmas holidays! I know that this fic is progresses really slowly, but that's kind of the point. You've probably figured out by now that it isn't for people looking for immediate action. I've really tried to focus on having a progressive plot and not just skip to the exciting parts, but still making it interesting. I hope I'm succeeding. **

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Considering I was 5 years old when the 1****st**** Harry Potter book came out...yeah, don't own it.**

**Chapter Thirteen: Happy Holidays**

The students of Hogwarts woke up on the first day of December to a blanket of snow covering the grounds.

"Snow!" shrieked Dawn, running to the window and pressing her face against the glass, grinning like a maniac. "Snow! Snow! Snow!"

"Ergh," groaned Lily. "Cold."

"Aw, don't be such a sourpuss," said Marica, swinging her legs out of bed and pulling her nightgown off over her head.

"I don't like the cold," said Lily, shoving her feet into her boots and tugging a comb through her long red hair.

"C'mon, Dawn," said Marica, pulling on her own shoes. "Stop oggling at the snow. Unless you want to miss breakfast of course." That got Dawn's attention.

The three friends trooped downstairs, where Cassiopeia was already waiting for them. But, instead of being curled up in her usual armchair, she was leaning out of the open window, falling snowflakes swirling around her outstretched arms.

Hearing the older girls come down the stairs, she pulled her head back inside, a big grin on her face.

"It's snowing," she announced, beaming. Snowflakes stuck to her long, pale hair and the shoulders of her robes.

"I take it you like snow," said Lily wryly.

Cassiopeia nodded. "It's so beautiful," she said.

Lily smiled. "I suppose it is. Just as long as it stays outside and I stay inside."

*****BWST*****

Unfortunately for Lily she could not stay inside. And the snow didn't do a very good job staying outside either. As Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica came downstairs a few mornings later, they were less than pleased to suddenly find themselves covered with snow while still on the marble staircase.

"Peeves!" shouted Lily, dashing the soggy flakes out of her eyes and glaring up at the poltergeist.

He grinned wickedly back at her, swinging his now empty buckets above their heads.

"Are the ickle students all snowy-woezies now?" he said in mock concern.

If Lily had been anyone else she probably would have flipped him off. As it was, she just glowered and stormed off into the hall, ringing out her long red hair over her shoulder. Cassiopeia, ringing out her own dripping hair, skipped after her, licking the remaining snowflakes off her fingers.

*****BWST*****

"Come on, Lily, won't you come outside? It's a beautiful day."

"It's a _cold_ day," said Lily, who was sitting in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

"Please?" said Cassiopeia, opening her light gray-blue eyes wide. "You can't stay cooped up inside all day, it's the weekend!"

Lily huffed. "Oh, alright," she said rising up out of the chair. "Let me grab my cloak."

Lily ran up and got her coat from her dormitory and then the two girls headed toward the portrait hole.

"We're going outside for a bit," said Lily to Dawn, who was sitting on Andrew's lap on one of the couches. "Want to come?"

"Nah," said Dawn. "You go ahead." She turned back to her boyfriend, tugging on his hair.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Where are you going, Lily?" called James.

"Outside," said Lily.

"You? Outside? In the cold?" said James incredulously. "You hate the cold!"

"I know," said Lily. "But Cassie practically begged me. And I had nothing better to do anyway."

"I give it five minutes," said James.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

Cassiopeia giggled.

The girls descended the staircases and exited out of the front doors onto the grounds.

"Brrr!" said Lily, pulling her cloak more tightly around her. "Let's go back inside."

"Oh, come on, Lily," said Cassiopeia. "The snow's so beautiful." She stepped forward and spun slowly on the spot, reveling in the white flakes caressing her face. She stuck out her tongue and caught a flake on the end of it.

Lily watched her and couldn't help grinning. "You look like a winter faerie," she said. "All you need is wings."

"And pointed ears," said Cassiopeia, halting in her spinning.

"Yes," agreed Lily, "and pointed ears."

The girls continued their stroll around the grounds, walking at a leisurely pace. Lily wrapped her arms around herself.

"Aren't you cold?" she said.

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I like the snow. I like being out in it."

"Snow is all very nice," said Lily. "But it's _cold_!"

SMACK!

A snowball hit Lily in the shoulder.

"What the—"

WHIZZ!

Another snowball narrowly missed Cassiopeia's head.

The two girls whirled around.

Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo stood several yards away, grinning widely.

"You gits!" yelled Lily, dodging another snowball, this one thrown by Hugo.

Cassiopeia bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and lobbed it at her brother. It hit him square in the chest.

"Don't encourage him!" said Lily, as another snowball glanced off her side. But it was too late.

"This isn't fair!" protested Lily, as her brother, cousin, and Scorpius lobbed snowballs at them. "There are three of you and only two of us! And we're younger!"

As Lily pulled back her arm to throw a snowball of her own at Albus, another snowball hit her in the back of the head. Whirling around, she saw a grinning Rose standing underneath a tree.

"Rose!" she protested. "Why are you on their side!"

Rose just shrugged, grinning.

"Lily, Cassiopeia, need some help?" Marica came running across the lawn, a handful of snow already clutched in her fist.

"Yes!" Lily and Cassiopeia both cried, ducking a flurry of snowballs aimed their way by Rose and the boys.

Their snowball fight soon attracted attention and they were joined by Dawn, Andrew, James, River, Louis, Brandi, Paloma, Alondra (Paloma's little sister), two of Alondra's friends, Tamzen, and Tamzen's boyfriend Mikey. They teams ended up being boys versus girls. It was fair, claimed the girls, because, although there was one more of them, most of the boys were older.

When everyone was throughly soaked and exhausted, they all trooped back inside to dry off and change.

"You're soaked, Lily!" said River, coming up to her.

"So're you," she pointed out.

"True," he said ruefully. He unclasped his cloak and thew it over her shoulders. "Here, you look cold."

"Oh—thanks," said Lily. "It _is_ far too cold out here."

The members of different houses parted ways in the entrance hall, River taking back his cloak once they were inside the warmer castle.

"That was fun," said Dawn, beaming from ear to ear and bouncing up the stairs beside Andrew.

"It was," agreed Lily.

"You weren't _cold_?" teased Marica.

"There wasn't time to be cold," said Lily. "I was too busy dodging snowballs!"

*****BWST*****

It was a good night to sit in front of the fire, drinking tea and cocoa and finishing the homework that was due the next day.

"Tsk tsk," said Marica in mock reproof. "Haven't you finished your homework yet?"

"I have,"said Cassiopeia, looking up from her green and gold plait.

"That's 'cause you're a second year," said Lily. "I'm _almost_ done."

"Almost isn't done," said Cassiopeia smartly, dodging as Lily tried to tug her braid.

Lily stuck out her tongue at Cassiopeia then went back to her Astronomy homework.

"What do you make those for?" Lily asked Cassiopeia curiously a few minutes later.

"They're pretty," said Cassiopeia, shrugging. "And they can be made into lots of things; blankets, decorations, hair ornaments, whatever you want. They also keep my hands busy."

"Can I see it?" said Lily.

"Sure." Cassiopeia handed her plait over. Lily examined it.

"Who taught you how to do that?"

"No one," said Cassiopeia. "I taught myself."

"Woah," said Marica, leaning over to look at it.

"Yea, it's really pretty," said Dawn.

"Thank you," said Cassiopeia.

Lily handed the plait back to Cassiopeia and folded up her Astronomy homework.

"I'm done," she said. "And I'm going to bed. It's late."

"You're right," said Marica, checking her watch.

The girls and Andrew stood up and headed for their respective dormitories.

"'Night, Lily," said Cassiopeia, breaking off from the others toward her own dormitory.

"'Night Cassie."

*****BWST*****

It was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the end of term. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground and the sun was shining bright in the clear blue sky.

"I wish you could come with us, Cassie," said Lily as she, Marica, Dawn, Andrew, Rose, Louis, James, and James's girlfriend, Analise, prepared to leave the common room.

"So do I," said Cassiopeia longingly, "but I'll be able to go next year. Have fun."

Lily, Marica, Dawn, Andrew, Rose, Louis and James left through the portrait hole. James and Analise quickly went ahead of the others with their friends, and Rose broke off to join Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo when they reached the entrance hall. The rest of them continued into Hogsmeade together.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" said Dawn, smiling fondly up at Andrew.

"It's too cold," said Lily.

"Oh, pooh," said Dawn. "It's always too cold for you."

"Let's go to Honeydukes," suggested Louis, gallantly offering Marica his arm.

"Good idea," said River, copying Louis and offering his own arm to Lily.

Everyone agreed to this plan, so they went to the sweet shop and then on to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers.

*****BWST*****

"I can feel my hands again," said Lily, clutching her butterbeer.

Louis, who had been busy flirting with the fourth year Hufflepuffs at the table behind them, looked up and scowled.

"Look who decided to join us," he said unenthusiastically.

Lily glanced over her shoulder. Scorpius Malfoy had just come in, with Albus, Hugo, and Rose behind him. The girls Louis had been flirting with followed the Slytherins' progress with their eyes.

"Hugo, Rose" said Lily, waving to her cousins while ignoring her brother and Scorpius. "Come sit with us.

"Er—" said Hugo.

Rose looked at Lily guiltily, but neither she nor Hugo came over and joined them.

"Forget them," said Louis, turning Lily towards him.

"Yeah," said River, "Let's go walk around the village a little more."

They rose, Louis blowing a kiss to the Hufflepuffs before taking Lily's and Marica's arms, one on each side, and leading them out, Lily glancing over her shoulder at Hugo as she left.

*****BWST*****

It was that time of the year again: Exams. Rose, Marica, James, and even Lily were studying hard, and trying to convince Dawn, Andrew, and Louis that they really needed to as well. Cassiopeia was studying too, but only the subjects that she knew she needed to study, Potions most especially.

Since Albus and Scorpius were notorious not-studiers (and yet got good marks, it made Lily furious), Rose was not spending as much time with them as she had taken to doing recently. Not that time spent with Rose in the week before exams was particularly fun; she tended to be rather short and snappish.

"Rose," said Louis, "your head is going to explode." He and Andrew, who had become good friends in the last few weeks, were both lounging on couches near the fire. Dawn was sitting half on top of Andrew, and Charise Zeller, a pretty fifth year with big brown eyes and a cute smile, was in the same position with Louis, toying with his silvery hair.

"I'm going to make _your _head explode if you don't shut up," snapped Rose irritably.

"Oh come on, cuz," said Louis. "Relax, enjoy yourself. I know you can, I've seen you!"

"_Not,"_ said Rose vehemently, "with exams only a few days away."

_*****_BWST_*****_

Those few days went by quickly and it was first morning of exams. Lily and Cassiopeia were both decently confident that they would do well in most of their exams, as was Marica. Rose was worrying as usual, but everyone else knew that if she wasn't the top of her class it would only be because Scorpius Malfoy had beat her to it.

"I just wish exams were over already," said Dawn. "Then it would be Christmas!"

_*****_BWST*_****_

Well, eventually exams were over, and though it wasn't quite Christmas, it was time for the Christmas holidays.

"What's your favorite part of the Christmas Holidays?" Brandi asked the rest of the compartment on the train. It consisted of all of the girls in Lily's dormitory, plus Cassiopeia, River, and Andrew (it was quite crowded).

"The food!" said Dawn and Andrew at the same time, making everyone laugh.

"I like the presents," said Tamzen.

"Sleeping in," said River.

"No school," said Brandi.

"I get to see my family," said Lily.

"All the traditions are my favorite," said Paloma.

"I'm with Brandi, no school," said Louis, appearing in the doorway and winking at Brandi. "But no girls either," he added sadly.

"What about you, Cassie?" asked Lily.

Cassiopeia thought for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "I can't decide. I like everything. I'm going to miss school though."

"Me too," said River, looking at Lily.

*****BWST*****

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station, Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia got off together, after Dawn gave Andrew a quick kiss goodbye. Standing on tiptoe, all four girls spotted their respective families.

"'Bye," said Lily, hugging each of her friends in turn. "See you next year!"

"You too!" said Dawn.

"Have a happy Christmas," said Marica.

"'Bye Lily," said Cassiopeia.

She watched Lily until she was swallowed up by the crowd and then turned toward her own family.

"Oh, there you are, Cassie," said Scorpius as she walked over to them. "Thought maybe you'd gotten lost."

Cassiopeia shook her head as Draco and Astoria ushered their children toward the barrier leading out into the main station. _I was with my friend_, she thought, looking at her brother and nodding back toward Lily.

_That's good_, Scorpius's look said. He raised his thin brows in a question, _What about the others, aren't they your friends?_

Cassiopeia gave a half shrug. _I've learned not to make assumptions_. A corner of her mouth quirked up.

_To assume makes and ass out of u and me_, they thought, smirking at each other.

_*****_BWST_*****_

The Potter/Weasley area of the platform was as hectic and crowded as usual.

"No Al," Harry was saying, "you will _not_ put those worms into your cousin's trunk."

"Get rid of the disgusting things," Ginny added. "_Accio! Accio! _Erugh!"

Ron, meanwhile, was looking at Hugo's choice of outfit in distaste. "I know you're in Slytherin, Hugo, but do you have to proclaim the fact so forwardly?" He had on a pair of silvery-blue jeans and an emerald green sweater with a silver collar. His silver trainers had green snakes printed on the sides.

"Come on," Aunt Fleur was saying to Dominique and Louis. "Zis platform is too crowded. Louis, do not flirt with zat girl! She is far too young for you."

Louis gave another showy bow to the second year behind his mother's back and his sister hit him upside the head. Rubbing his head with an offended air, Louis followed his mother and sister off of the platform, the rest of the Potter/Weasley family close behind.

"How do you think you did on the exams?" Rose asked James.

"Please, Rose, it's Christmas holidays, let's not talk about exams!" said James.

*****BWST*****

It was a general consensus in the Potter household that one week was not nearly enough time to do all the Christmas shopping that was required. While Lily had already bought some of her gifts during the last Hogsmeade weekend, she still had plenty more to buy; there were far too many cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, and honorary family members to remember. Somehow, however, with trips both to Diagon Alley and the nearby Burbank Corner and Muggle shops, they all managed to get their shopping done before the annual Christmas Eve gathering.

_*****_BWST_*****_

It was Christmas Eve Day and Lily, Albus, and James, were doing their last minute shopping while their parents readied the house for that night's festivities.

"Who haven't you bought for yet, Lils?" asked James, consulting his own list.

"Just my friends I think," said Lily, double checking. "Oh, and Grandpa."

"Grandpa's easy," said Albus. "Just get him some Muggle gadget or other and he'll be happy."

Lily went into a Muggle office supply store. "Does Grandpa have a digital copier yet?" she asked.

"I don't think so," said James.

Lily picked out a small, digital photocopy machine and paid for it. "Grandpa'll have hours of fun with this. Now I just need gifts for Dawn and Marica.

She ended up picking out a set of patterned magical book protectors for Marica and pair of hair barrettes and a large, broomstick shaped chocolate bar for Dawn.

As they were leaving their last shop, something caught Lily's eye. It was a small faerie figurine, no more than three inches tall. She was dressed in a green dress and her silver wings were fluttering rhythmically, keeping her hovering an inch above the shelf. Her long, pale hair and crystalline gray-blue eyes reminded Lily forcibly of Cassiopeia Malfoy.

"How much is this?" Lily asked the shop keeper on impulse.

"One Galleon, Sixteen Sickles," said the man in a bored voice.

"I'll take her," said Lily. She hadn't planned on buying a Christmas gift for Cassiopeia, she hadn't really thought about it, but the faerie was just so perfect for the little girl that Lily couldn't resist.

"Who's that for?" Albus asked with interest when Lily came out of the shop with the faerie figurine in a small bag.

"Cassiopeia," said Lily, eliciting a look of surprise from her brother.

*****BWST*****

Now, the entire Potter-Weasley family plus Teddy, the Longbottoms, and the Scamanders were crowded around the magically elongated table in the number 12 Grimmauld Place dining room, eating a magnificent roast.

"That was delicious, Ginny," said Lily's uncle Bill, patting his stomach.

"Thank your own wife," said Ginny, indicating Fleur, "she did the roast."

"Teddy, Victoire," said Hermione to the couple who was currently squabbling good-naturedly at the end of the table. "Have you set a wedding date yet? You've been engaged for nearly a year."

"Yes, we have," said Victoire, the only one of Bill and Fleur's children to carry a trace of her mother's French accent. "We were just about to announce it. We've decided to do it this summer so that everyone can be there. July 12th."

"Good for you," said Harry, beaming at Teddy.

"If you and your mother need help with the preparations I'd be more than happy to provide it," said Angelina. "If Molly doesn't take over it all of course," she added. **(an: just to be clear, she means Molly as in Ron and Ginny's mother, not Percys' daughter)**

Lily smiled. She was happy that Teddy and Victoire would finally be getting married. They had been going together since the end of Teddy's seventh year at Hogwarts, Victoire's sixth, and everyone had expected them to get married much sooner. But Victoire had wanted to complete her Healer training before tying the knot.

"Who're you going to name the baby after?" said George teasingly.

"Baby?" said Teddy, choking on his pumpkin juice. "Who said anything about a baby?"

Everyone laughed.

"You want one sometime, don't you?" said Victoire, stroking Teddy's arm.

"Er—sometime," said Teddy evasively. "Just not now!"

_*****_BWST_*****_

After dinner and an excessive amount of dessert, everyone rolled and waddled their way up to bed. The sleeping arrangements were the same as the previous year, as was the amount of staying up and talking rather than going to sleep. Everyone eventually did go to sleep, however, and they were not surprised when they were woken by childish screams of, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas!"

Lily rolled over and looked at Lorcan and Lysander, who were excitedly bouncing up and down in the doorway. She had no doubt that they would be jumping up and down on the beds if there had been any room at all for them to do so.

"All right, all right," said Molly, poking her head out from under her covers and sitting up. "We're up, we're up."

"Domi's not," said Lorcan astutely, pointing at the blond, who was still wearing her sleeping mask.

"Up you get, Domi!" said, Roxanne cheerfully, snapping the elastic of her cousin's pink and white sleeping mask.

"Ouch!" said Dominique. She yanked the mask off and glared at the older girl. "Not funny, Roxanne!"

"Really?" said Roxanne innocently. "I thought it was hilarious."

*****BWST*****

After finishing breakfast and waiting for the adults to be done with their coffee (which, in Lily's, Hugo's, Lorcan's, and Lysander's opinions at least took a really long time) everyone gathered around the large Christmas tree in the living room to open presents.

Among numerous other things, Lily received a large Breathless Banshees poster from Albus, a watch that could transform into a bracelet, ring, or necklace from James, a bottle of musky French scent from Louis, a fancy new Wizards' Chess set from Marica, and an assortment of sweets from Dawn. When everyone had finally finished opening all of their presents, and had begun the task of gathering up all of the wrapping, there was a tap on the window.

Lily looked up and saw a small, silvery owl rapping at the window. Since she was the closest to it, she got up and let to owl in. It promptly dropped the package it was holding in her hands.

"What's that?" said Hugo curiously, peering over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure," said Lily.

She unwrapped the parcel.

_Dear Lily,_

_Happy Christmas! I am well and I hope you are too. I'm sure that you are having fun with your enormous family during the Holidays. _

_Happy Christmas and Happy New Year,_

_Your friend,_

_Cassiopeia Malfoy_

Underneath the letter was something soft and silvery. Lily finished unwrapping the package and pulled it out. It was one of Cassiopeia's braided plaits, more intricate than any of the others Lily had seen before. It was about two inches wide and consisted of various shades of silver threads, woven together to create a shimmery effect not unlike water or the winter sky. The ends of the simple yet beautiful plait were joined together with a red lily-shaped button that went through a loop of crimson thread.

"Whoa," said Hugo, admiring the bracelet. "Who sent you _that_?"

"Cassiopeia," said Lily, feeling very glad that she had bought the younger girl a present.

"C'est beau," said Louis, coming up on Lily's other side.

"avez-vous un admirateur secret?" said Dominique, looking at the bracelet appreciatively.

"No," said Lily, blushing. "It's from my friend, Cassiopeia Malfoy."

Harry looked at her. "Friend?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "She's actually really nice once you get to know her.

"I would imagine so, to send you that," said Teddy.

"She makes them," explained Lily.

"Quel talent," said Victiore.

*****BWST*****

Meanwhile, Cassiopeia was having a much more sedated, but no less enjoyable, Christmas Day at Malfoy Manor. She woke up early as usual, and after sending off her gift to Lily, which she had just finished the night before, she went into her brother's room. She didn't wake him up, but just sat near the foot of his bed, knowing that he would sense her presence soon enough and wake up on his own. She wasn't wrong. After a few minutes Scorpius opened his eyes and sat up.

"Hey Cassie," he said. "It's Christmas!"

"It is," she agreed, smiling.

By the time both of them were dressed and ready, their parents were up and the house elves were cooking breakfast down in the kitchen. As they set the steaming eggs and crepes on the table, the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of both sets of Cassiopeia and Scorpius's grandparents.

After a lengthy breakfast filled with conversation in which the adults ignored Cassiopeia and were ignored by Scorpius, the Malfoy and Greenglass family retired to the living room to unwrap their presents. Cassiopeia appreciated the new clothes she received, even if they weren't quite what she would have picked out for herself, but she was even more pleased with the earrings and journal that Scorpius gave her.

Just then she noticed an owl that she recognized as belonging to the Potters hovering outside her window. In addition to Albus's usual present to Scorpius (the very latest yet-to-be released Weasleys Wizard Wheezes products) it bore another, smaller parcel tied to its leg.

"Cassie," said Scorpius, peering at the second parcel, "it's for you."

"For me?" said Cassiopeia. She took the package and unwrapped it. A small, fluttering faerie figurine fell out into her hand and then rose and inch or so above her palm.

"Oh!" she said, slipping into the mix of different languages she tended to think and speak in when she was excited. "Une feé! Qué bonita! Es ist von Lily."

Scorpius extended his hand and Cassiopeia handed over the faerie for his examination.

"It looks like you," he observed.

"Do you really think so?" said Cassiopeia.

"Remember to write your friend a thank you letter," said Astoria, always a stickler for manners, from her seat on the couch.

"Ja, Mutter," said Cassiopeia, still gazing at the faerie in wonder. "Por supuesto."

*****BWST*****

During the rest of the holidays Lily was happy to find that she and Hugo resumed much of their previous closeness. True, Hugo still often hung out with Albus, but as Lily and Albus were generally with each other anyways, he was also with Lily most of the time.

"Hugo!" said Lily, playfully shoving her cousin, "I can't see the clock! How can I do the countdown if I can't see the clock?"

Hugo shifted over, nearly spilling his pumpkin juice in the process. Lily caught it for him and they laughed, Lily shaking her head at her clumsy cousin.

"Dad," said Albus, looking jealously at the glass in James's hand. "Why can't _I_ have some champagne? James is only a year older than me!"

"James is of age and you are not," said Ginny firmly before Harry could answer.

"It isn't fair," grumbled Albus. "Uncle Ron's letting Rose have some."

"I've already turned seventeen, you twit," said Rose.

"Why does my birthday have to be in the summer?" grumbled Albus.

"Shhh!" said Lily and Hugo together. "It's almost time!"

Everyone looked at the clock.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six..."

*****BWST*****

"...five...four...three...two...one... Happy New Year!"

Cassiopeia's parents, grandparents, and brother all toasted each other with their glasses of champaign (not their first that night).

"Want some?" said Scorpius, offering his glass to his little sister.

Cassiopeia took a sip, enjoying the bubbly feeling in her nose and throat.

"All right, bed time," said Draco sternly. You didn't argue with that tone of voice. Cassiopeia headed up to bed, leaving the adults (which now included Scorpius, since his birthday was in November) to continue their party.

**AN: Hope you liked the chapter :) The "It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" thing is what I did every Christmas morning to my parents. I'd run in and jump on their bed shouting. I started when I was 4 and got up early on my own and it was cute. But I kept it up and eventually had to set an alarm, lol. Anyways...some actual time spent in the Malfoy house! *gasp* Okay, not really, but it is the 1****st**** time. Remember, reviews are always welcome, even when there are X number of more chapters already posted ;)**

**-SQ**


	14. Chapter 14: I'm Sorry, I Just Can't

**AN: If you want to you can check out my other fics. No pressure or anything, just if you're interested or whatever. I have more HP, some **_**Glee**_**, & an Artemis Fowl.**

**Happy reading,**

**-SQ**

**Chapter Fourteen: I'm Sorry, I Just Can't**

"It's good to be going back," said Rose, looking around at the hustle and bustle of platform 9 ¾.

"Definitely," said Lily, waving to some of her classmates across the platform. "Friends."

"And pranks," said Albus, grinning mischievously.

"And food," said Hugo.

"And Quidditch," said James.

"And classes," said Rose.

Hugo looked at her askance. "Are you crazy?"

"What?" said Rose. "I _like_ classes! That's why we go to school!"

"Surely that's not the only thing you like about school," said Scorpius, joining them.

Rose blushed. "Of course not," she said.

Lily looked at her cousin. Why was Rose blushing? And what did Malfoy mean about classes not being the only thing Rose liked about school? Did she like some_one_?

Lily was distracted by Cassiopeia tugging on her sleeve. "Yoo-hoo, earth to Lily. Stop scowling at my brother and come on. Dawn and Marica are waiting for you."

Lily grinned at the younger girl. "Hello to you too."

Cassiopeia smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Hi."

Lily moved her arm and the sunlight glinted off of something silver on her wrist.

"You're wearing it!" said Cassiopeia.

Lily smiled and fingered the bracelet. "I love it. Thanks."

"Thank _you_ for the faerie," said Cassiopeia earnestly. "She's the prettiest thing I've ever seen."

"Oy! Lily!" Dawn was standing in the doorway of the train, hands cupped around her mouth. "Get over here!"

"Bye!" said Lily, waving to her parents.

"Bye Lily, see you soon!"

She blew them a quick kiss and then walked off toward the train with Cassiopeia.

"C'mon, Lily!" said Dawn impatiently.

"Calm down, Dawn," said Marica, laughing. "The train's not going to leave without us."

The four girls found a compartment and deposited their things on the racks above before sitting down in one of the booths.

"So, how were your holidays?" asked Marica, settling down beside Dawn.

"Good!" said Dawn, beaming. "Barny really liked all your guys's owls."

Barny was Dawn's three-year-old brother.

"Did you survive another Potter-Weasley Christmas intact, Lily?" teased Marica.

"Yes," said Lily, sticking her tongue out at her friend.

"What'd you guys get for Christmas?" asked Dawn.

They spend a good portion of the rest of the train ride talking about the presents they had received for the holidays.

*****BWST*****

After a while Andrew and Louis joined them.

"There you are, Dawn," said Andrew, slipping into the seat beside her and putting his arm around her. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry, Andrew," said Dawn, snuggling in under his arm.

He gave her a quick peck on the lips. "It's alright, love."

"May I sit here, mademoiselles?" asked Louis, indicating the seat next to Lily and Cassiopeia.

"Sit down, silly," said Lily, pulling her cousin down unceremoniously.

"Hey, that wasn't very ladylike!" Louis protested, half-falling into the seat.

Lily poked him in the side, where she knew he was most ticklish.

"Stop that!" said Louis, shooting up again.

Cassiopeia laughed so hard tears came into her eyes.

"Maybe I'll look for some mademoiselles who are _plus poli_," said Louis.

"Aw, come on, Lou," said Lily. "I was only teasing. Sit down."

Louis warily perched himself on the edge of the seat.

*****BWST*****

It wasn't until they were disembarking the train that they saw River.

"Lily!" he said, running up to her. "I'm sorry this is late." He held out a small gift-wrapped box.

Lily looked at it in confusion.

"It's a Christmas present," said River.

"Thanks!" said Lily, surprise, River had never given her a Christmas present before, usually it was just Dawn and Marica of her friends from school. "I—er—didn't get you anything."

"That's alright," said River.

Lily untied the ribbon, peeled off the paper, and opened the box. Inside was a golden hair clip in the shape of a lily.

"Thanks, River," said Lily. The clip was very pretty, but she didn't actually wear hair clips very often, preferring to simply pull her long red hair back so it was out of her way.

"You're welcome," said River, smiling oddly. "Why don't we find a carriage?"

All of them couldn't fit into one carriage, so the boys and girls split up. River looked rather disappointed as he followed Andrew and Louis into their carriage.

*****BWST*****

Classes resumed the next day, and Dawn went at them with a surprising vigor.

"Why the sudden devotion to your homework?" asked Cassiopeia, watching Dawn scribble away at her Charms essay.

"Exam grades not what your parents hoped they'd be?" guessed Marica shrewdly.

Dawn looked sheepish. "They figure I should have spent more time studying and less time snogging Andrew."

The other three girls laughed.

"Did I hear my name?" said Andrew, coming up behind them.

"Dawn's parents think your bad for her," teased Marica.

"Bad for my schoolwork, anyways," said Dawn.

Andrew grinned and flopped himself down one of the couches. "Well, even I'm not perfect."

*****BWST*****

Now that exams and holidays were over, the students of Hogwarts had time again for other things. For Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo this meant pranks, for Rose it meant personal reading and hanging out with said pranksters, for Marica it was Wizards' Chess Club, for James, Dawn, and Andrew it was Quidditch, for Louis is was courting and flirting, and for Lily and Cassiopeia it was foreign languages.

"Lily," said Cassiopeia one evening, when Marica was at the Wizards' Chess Club and Dawn was at Quidditch practice, "are you busy?"

"No, of course not," said Lily. "Why?"

"You mentioned wanting help learning languages," said Cassiopeia.

Lily's face lit up. "Yes, I did! I'd almost forgotten!"

Cassiopeia curled, catlike, into her favorite armchair. "The best way to learn languages is to practice them," she said. "What languages are you interested in learning?"

"Well, I've been trying to learn Spanish..." said Lily.

"¡Español!" said Cassiopeia. "Hablo español. Pues, más o menos bien. Puedo ayudarte. ¿Qué has aprendido? ¿Me entiendas ahora?"

"Er—" said Lily.

"Obviously not," said Cassiopeia, laughing. "I said that I speak Spanish, more or less, and asked you how much you had learned and if you could understand me. Let's start with the basics. It'll go fast, I promise."

*****BWST*****

It did go fast; after three weeks Lily was able to exchange simple sentences in Spanish. Cassiopeia took to speaking to her in Spanish so that she could practice. This helped much more than the books that Lily had been trying to use to learn the language. It did, however, become rather annoying for her friends.

"Lily, Cassiopeia, won't you _please_ speak in English?" begged Dawn. "We don't know what you're saying!"

"Lo siento. I mean, sorry," said Lily apologetically.

"Why don't I teach you two as well?" said Cassiopeia. "Then you won't feel so left out."

"Me?" said Dawn. "Yeah, right. I'm hopeless at languages."

"You'd be surprised," said Lily. "It's not as hard as it sounds."

Dawn looked skeptical. "Alright, you can try...but don't expect me to study Spanish every night!"

*****BWST*****

"Hey, Lily, hola chica," said Paloma as Lily walked into the dormitory. "Oigo qué you're learning to speak español."

"Yeah," said Lily. "Cassie's teaching me."

"I could have taught you, you know, if you'd asked," said Paloma, smiling. "I am, you know, de españa."

"Yeah...I realized that," said Lily laughing.

"Though it's probably better to be taught by someone who's not native actually," said Paloma. "I know all about speaking Spanish, but nothing about learning it. I'd be happy to practice with you any time though."

"Gracias," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

"Hey Cassie," said Lily casually as she, Cassiopeia, Marica, Dawn, Andrew, and Louis walked into the Great Hall together for dinner on the last Sunday of January, "when's your birthday anyway?"

"The thirty-first," said Cassiopeia.

"The thirty-first of what?" said Marica.

"The thirty-first of January," said Cassiopeia.

"What?" said Lily, dropping the fork she had just picked up. "But that's only three days away!"

"Er—yeah?" said Cassiopeia.

"Well, what do you generally do for your birthday?" asked Lily.

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Not much. I mean, before I started school I didn't have any friends. My family came over and we had dinner, I got gifts, you know."

"Haven't you ever had a birthday party?"

"Not really," said Cassiopeia. "There was no one to invite."

*****BWST*****

"We have to have a birthday party for Cassie," said Lily to Dawn and Marica that night in their dorm.

"I agree," said Dawn. "The kid needs to have a birthday party at least once in her life!"

"We can get Louis to help us plan it, he's great at parties," added Marica.

*****BWST*****

Since Lily and Cassiopeia were virtually always together, except during classes, it was quite difficult for Lily to plan a surprise birthday party for her friend.

"Louis!" Lily hissed across the corridor as she saw her cousin walking between classes. Louis, who was busy laying compliments on a pair of blushing Ravenclaw girls, ignored her.

"Louis! Lou! _I'm trying to talk to you!_"

Louis turned around and scowled at her. "I'm a little busy right now, Lils."

"Louis, who's that?" asked one of the Ravenclaws, eying Lily suspiciously.

"My cousin, mes belles," said Louis to the girls.

"Louis, I need to talk to you," said Lily.

"Un moment, mes chéres," said Louis to the Ravenclaws, bowing over their hands. He crossed to Lily. "This had better be good, Lils," he said.

Lily looked up at her cousin and bit her lip. He wasn't displeased very often, but when he was he could be surprisingly fierce. "Do you think you could arrange a surprise birthday party in two days?"

*****BWST*****

"But Lily, where are we going?" asked Cassiopeia for the dozenth time, as Lily led her up the staircase to the seventh floor.

"I told you, I dropped my quill somewhere up here, I want you to help me look for it."

"Lily, you have other quills—"

"But this one was my favorite."

They arrived, Cassiopeia panting slightly, in the seventh floor corridor.

"Where do you think you dropped it, Lily?" asked Cassiopeia, scanning the floor.

"Somewhere around here," said Lily, passing in front of a tapestry depicting a very foolish wizard trying to teach trolls ballet.

Cassiopeia looked dubiously at the floor underneath the tapestry. "Lily, I don't see—"

"I'm sure it's here," said Lily, passing in front of the tapestry a second time.

Cassiopeia bent down to peer more closely at the floor as Lily walked in front of the tapestry for a third time. Then she looked up and gasped. Where there had once been a blank wall across from the tapestry there was now a highly polished door with a brass handle.

"W-what?"

Lily grinned and grabbed the handle, yanking the door open. Cassiopeia had a brief glimpse of cheery room decorated in crimson and silver, and then several voices shouted "SURPRISE!" and the owners of said voices jumped out from the corners of the room, pulling Lily and a very startled Cassiopeia inside.

"Happy birthday, Cassie," said Lily, her grin even wider, as she shut the door behind her.

Cassiopeia looked around the room, her eyes wide. It was carpeted in crimson with walls papered in silver. There were bunches of silver-and-red balloons floating on the ceiling and bouquets of silver-and-red flowers in vases in the corners. There was also a large glittery banner strung across the room which read "HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY CASSIOPEIA!"in swirly silver letters.

"Wow..." said Cassiopeia softly, looking around the room. "Thank you..."

Lily was quite pleased with herself, and Louis of course, for how the party had turned out. In two days they had managed to send out the invitations and buy the presents and get the food (not too difficult with a little help from the secret passages and the Hogwarts House-elves). The decorations, of course, had been taken care of by the Room, except for the banner, which had been Dawn's and Rose's creation.

The guests in attendance were Dawn, Marica, Rose, Louis, Andrew, Hugo, a rather reluctant looking River...and Albus and Scorpius.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked them rudely.

"You didn't think I was going to miss my own sister's birthday party, did you?" said Scorpius superiorly.

Lily looked at Louis. "Did you invite them?"

"_No,"_ said Louis emphatically. "No offense to you, Al," he added.

"None taken," said Albus, who knew well of his cousin's rivalry with his best friend.

Lily rounded on Rose and Hugo.

Rose at least had the decency to look guilty. "Lily, she's his sister, we couldn't not invite him."

"Hmph," said Lily and Louis.

"Come on, this is a party, so let's party!" said Albus, ladling himself a glass of punch.

"What is this place?" said Cassiopeia, taking a piece of silver-and-red-frosted birthday cake.

"The Room of Requirement," said Lily. "My dad found it while he was at school. Not very many people know about it. If you walk in front of it three times thinking really hard about what you need, it'll appear equipped for whatever you want it for."

"Sweet," said Cassiopeia.

"You can't tell anyone, though," said Scorpius.

"Of _course_," said Cassiopeia, rolling her eyes at her brother. "There wouldn't be much point to a secret room if everybody knew about it, now would there? Besides, who would I tell?"

*****BWST*****

By February even those who enjoyed the cold weather were beginning to tire of it. Schoolwork was being piled on harder than ever, and even on the rare occasions that the students had time for themselves, they were cooped up inside unless they wanted to brave the icy winds on the grounds.

"February is a stupid month," declared Lily. "Nothing exciting happens."

"There's a Hogsmeade weekend this month," Marica pointed out.

"But that's still two weeks away," said Lily.

"There's Valentine's Day this month," said Dawn, who was currently seated on Andrew's lap.

"Ugh, spare me," said Lily. "I've never seen the point of that holiday, I really haven't."

"That's because you've never had a boyfriend," said Cassiopeia sagely.

"Oh, and you have?" said Lily, raising an eyebrow.

"No," said Cassiopeia calmly. "But Valentine's Day _is_ rather romantic...don't you think?"

"I suppose so," said Lily. "But I could do without all of the couples sucking face."

"They do that anyway," said Marica, nodding her head at the couch across the room, where James was currently snogging Analise Vanders with full vigor.

Lily rolled her eyes. "That's my brother for you. At least he sticks to one girl at a time." Nearby, Louis was entertaining a group of giggling third-years with his overly-debonair antics.

*****BWST*****

The two weeks between then and the next Hogsmeade visit weren't nearly as long as they had seemed from the far side. It was the very day so many couples had been waiting for, Valentine's Day itself, and only three days from the eagerly-awaited Hogsmead weekend, and Lily, Marica, Cassiopeia, and Paloma, boyfriendless all, were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, playing Exploding Snap.

"Er—Lily Potter?"

Lily looked up. There was a rather nervous-looking first year standing by her chair, holding something pink.

"Yes?"

"This is for you."

The first year handed Lily the pink thing, which turned out to be a paper heart. On it were written several red letters, which kept alternating between, "My very special Lily," and "Won't you be my Valentine?"

Lily stared at the card, dumbstruck. "Who...?"

"Look, on the back," said Cassiopeia, reaching over and turning the pink heart upside-down.

The message there read _Lils, I'm outside your common room, come and see me, I have something to ask you_.

"Well, go on!" exclaimed Marica.

"I wonder who it's from?" said Paloma.

Lily shrugged, baffled.

Marica exchanged a knowing look with Cassiopeia. Both of them had a pretty god idea who had sent the card.

With her friends all looking at her expectantly, Lily rose and went to to the portrait hole, stepping through it into the corridor. She looked around. At first she thought no one was there. Then River stepped out into her line of vision.

"Lily."

"River, what are you doing here?" said Lily blankly.

I'm the one who told you to come out here." said River. "That is why you're coming out here, right?"

"You _what_?" said Lily.

"I sent the card," said River. He took one of Lily's hands in his own, larger one. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out with me this weekend. Just the two of us."

River was staring at Lily in a way that made her uncomfortable. She unconsciously fingered the silver-and-red bracelet that Cassiopeia had given her for Christmas; she had taken to wearing it nearly all the time. "Like—what do you mean, River—like a date?"

"Yes," said River. "That's exactly what I mean."

"But—but, we're just friends," said Lily. "Why—why are you asking me?"

"I was hoping we could be more than just friends," said River. "I really like you Lily, I have since the beginning of last year. And I thought you might like me too."

Lily swallowed, turning her bracelet around and around on her wrist. "River—I—I don't know what to say. I like you, I do, you're one of my best friends. But I just—I don't see you that way." She pulled her hand gently out of his. "I'm sorry."

River looked crestfallen. He blinked quickly; his eyes looked rather damp. "Sometimes I could have sworn..."

"River, please," said Lily. "I didn't mean to lead you on or anything. I honestly didn't realize."

"Is there—do you have—is there someone else?"

"No," said Lily. "I don't see _anyone_ that way right now."

"And you couldn't try—"

"No, River," said Lily firmly but gently. "I couldn't. I really like having you as a friend. And I don't want to hurt you but I just—it wouldn't feel right, going out with you."

River nodded. "I understand," he said thickly.

"Oh, River," said Lily. "I really am sorry. I like you, I do, but I could never _date_ you." She reached up and squeezed his shoulder.

River turned his head away.

Lily gave him a quick hug, but he shrugged away from her, and when he spoke his voice was muffled.

"See around Lily."

"See you, River" said Lily.

*****BWST****

"Who was it?" Marica, Paloma, and Cassiopeia asked excitedly when Lily came back into the common room.

Lily sat down heavily. "River."

"I _told_ you he liked you!" said Marica triumphantly.

Cassiopeia looked at Lily searchingly. "Lily, what happened?"

"He—he asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend, on a date."

"What did you say?" asked Paloma.

"I told him no."

"No!" said Marica. "Whatever for?"

"'Cause she doesn't like him that way," said Cassiopeia. "Is that right Lily?"

Lily nodded. "I've been friends with River for years, but I just couldn't date him. It would be too weird."

"I can't believe you turned down River Thurshall," said Marica, shaking her head. "Plenty of girls would give half their Hogsmeade weekends for a date with him."

"I know," said Lily, shrugging helplessly. "I just—can't, you know?"

*****BWST*****

"Cheer up, Lils," said Louis, patting his cousin on the back as they headed out into Hogsmeade. "He'll get over it. Getting rejected by a girl isn't the end of the world."

"How would you know?" said Marica teasingly. "You've never been rejected by any."

Reluctantly, Lily laughed.

"Oh, Andrew, stop," said Dawn, wriggling away from her boyfriend. "I've already told you, I don't want to be tickled."

"Aw, but you're so cute when you squirm," said Andrew playfully, tickling her again.

"I said stop it!" said Dawn irritably, slapping his hand away.

Andrew pouted at her. "I'm sorry, love."

She titled her face up and pecked him on the lips. "Forgiven," she said grudgingly. "Just _listen_ to me next time."

"I will, love."

"And do stop calling me 'love', Andrew."

*****BWST*****

Lily's spirits had improved sufficiently by the end of the day, and she ended up having a good time with her friends and her cousin. Louis had even abandoned his flirting and devoted his entire day to cheering Lily up, and when Louis wanted you cheered up it was very hard not to be.

"Thanks Louis," said Lily, hugging her cousin goodbye before she headed up to her dormitory.

"Aucun probléme, ma cousine," said Louis. "Anything for you, mademoiselles," he added, including Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica in his bow.

Cassiopeia giggled and curtsied to Louis. "Bonne nuit," Louis," she said.

Lily and Cassiopeia followed Dawn and Marica up the stairs.

"'Night, Cassie," said Lily when they reached the second year landing, waving at her with the arm bearing the silver bracelet.

"'Night, Lily," replied Cassiopeia. "See you in the morning."

**AN: I hope all of you Louis fans enjoyed this chapter. And yes, River finally asked Lily out already. I know many of may not be too—er—fond of River, and justifiably, but don't you feel at least the tiniest bit sorry for him here? Just a little? He really does like her.**

**-SQ**


	15. Te Gustan Todos los Typos del Tiempo

**AN: When I wrote this I had issues thinking of ideas for this chapter. But I managed and here it is, I hope you enjoy it. There is one F-bomb dropped in it, just so you know.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: After fourteen chapters you'd think you'd know that Harry Potter's not mine.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Te Gustan Todos los Typos del Tiempo**

Lily stared drearily out of the common room window. It had been pouring rain for three days straight and didn't show any signs of stopping.

"Shouldn't the sky be all rained out by now?" she said gloomily, rubbing her silver bracelet in absent-minded annoyance.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," said Marica, looking up from her book.

"Ah, la lluvia no es tan mala," said Cassiopeia from her usual armchair.

"Oh, te gustan todos los typos del tiempo," said Lily.

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Pues, si no puede cambiarlo, por qué pierde su tiempo que lo odio?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm too tired for philosophy, especially in Spanish."

Cassiopeia smiled. "Are you too tired for Potions?"

Lily looked up and grinned. "I'm _never_ too tired for Potions."

"Good," said Cassiopeia, scooting closer to her. "Then you can help me."

A few minutes later Dawn came noisily through the portrait hole.

"Watch where you're going!" said the indignant voice of the Fat Lady before her portrait swung closed.

"Hey, Dawn," said Marica, making a space for her friend on the couch.

"Where's Andrew?" said Lily.

"Still in the locker rooms I think," said Dawn.

"You didn't wait for him?" asked Marica.

"I'm his girlfriend, not his keeper," said Dawn irritably. "Who wants to help me with my Bowtruckle drawing?"

*****BWST*****

Those hoping for an upswing in the weather with the arrival of the new month were sadly disappointed. February oozed and squelched its way into March with a sogginess much approved by Peeves, but generally unfavorable with the rest of the Hogwarts population. Fewer people than usual were amused when Albus and Scorpius replaced several of the vials of ingredients in the Potions classroom with vials of mud, especially when this caused several potions to explode rather messily on their unwary brewers.

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica did not envy Dawn her Quidditch practices one little bit. Cassiopeia and Marica enjoyed Quidditch more than Lily did, but they wouldn't go so far as to make themselves into walking mud balls for the sport.

"Andrew, watch it! Your muddy broom just splatted me in the back of the head!"

"Sorry!" said Andrew. "It's not like you could get any muddier anyways, Dawn."

"That isn't the point," said Dawn. "You're splattering mud everywhere, swinging that thing around like a fool."

Andrew stilled his swinging broom. "Sorry, sorry. _Your highness_," he added under his breath.

"I'm going up to get showered and changed," said Dawn.

"See you in a bit," said Andrew.

"Yeah," said Dawn, blowing him a half-hearted kiss. "In a bit."

Cassiopeia watched them go, a small frown creasing her pale brow.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Dawn, and Marica left the Potions classroom and headed up the stone steps to the Great Hall. Lily, who was having trouble with the clasps on her bag, lagged behind the other two. Finally stopping to un-stick the clasps, she glanced toward the window and did a double take. There was someone out there, someone who was much too small to be Hagrid. Curious, Lily pressed her face to the window and squinted through the torrents of rain, wondering who in their right mind would be outside in that all alone instead of going to dinner. The figure, so small Lily thought it must be a first year, twirled on the spot, slowly at first, and then gradually faster, tilting its head back and lifting its arms to the sky. Its robes swirled around it and its hat fell off, revealing a long flow of blond hair so pale it was hardly darkened by the rain...

Dropping her bag just inside the door to spare her homework and books the drenching, Lily opened the front doors and slipped outside into the rain.

"Cassie?" she called. "Cassie!"

The spinning figure showed no signs of being able to hear her through the sheets of rain.

Holding her hat firmly down on her head, Lily jogged toward her friend across the lawn. As she got closer she heard the sound of the younger girl's bell-like laughter ringing out through the downpour.

"Cassie!" _Cassie!_"

Cassiopeia stopped spinning, her arms dropping to her sides. Her head tilted forward again and she looked at Lily.

"Lily!" she called delightedly, a big smile on her face.

"What are you _doing_ out here?" said Lily, reaching her side. "It's pouring rain!"

"I know," said Cassie. "Isn't it wonderful?" She lifted her arms and tilted her head back again. The raindrops rolled down the contours of her face and fell like glistening diamonds from the ends of her shimmering hair.

"You'll catch a chill!" said Lily.

"No I won't," said Cassiopeia. "I do this all the time."

Cassiopeia looked back at Lily again and grabbed the older girl's hands. "Come on," she said, spinning Lily in a circle.

After a moment Lily gave in and let Cassiopeia twirl her around. The two girls spun faster and faster, soon Lily was laughing as loudly as Cassiopeia, her head bend upwards to catch the falling water droplets on her eyelashes and the tip of her nose.

Finally they stopped, out of breath and grinning. They doubled over laughing and panting.

Lily was the first to realize that the sun had completely set, enveloping the grounds in a velvety darkness.

"We've missed dinner!" she exclaimed, glancing up at the windows of the now vacant Great Hall.

Cassiopeia brushed her dripping hair out of her face. "Don't worry, I know where we can get something to eat. Follow me."

The two soaking girls trooped back into the castle. When the first bolt of lightning arched through the sky above them, followed by an earsplitting boom of thunder, they broke into a run.

There were still a few people milling around in the entrance hall, but Cassiopeia led Lily right past them to a door that Lily knew to lead to the corridor the Hufflepuffs took to their common room.

They did not go to the Hufflepuff common room, however. Cassiopeia led Lily a ways down the corridor and then stopped in front of a large painting depicting a bowl of fruit.

Inexplicably, Cassiopeia leaned forward and ticked a bright green painted pear with her forefinger. Even more strangely, the pear giggled and squirmed. Then it turned into a large green doorknob, which Cassiopeia proceeded to turn.

Lily followed her friend into a large, warm, delicious smelling room.

"I know where we are," she said, with a dawning feeling of comprehension. "We're in the kitchens!"

Cassiopeia nodded. "Of course, where else would we get dinner once it's ended in the Great Hall?"

Suddenly several house-elves came scurrying up to them.

"How may we be of service, Miss Malfoy, Miss Potter?" squeaked one of them.

"How do you know who I am?" asked Lily, surprised.

"Your brothers come here often," replied the elf.

"Do you come here a lot too?" Lily asked Cassiopeia.

"Oh no," said Cassiopeia. "I've never been here before. But Scorpius has. He told me how to get in."

"How come James and Al never told me how to get in?" said Lily.

"Probably because you never asked," said Cassiopeia.

The elves loaded them down with food and the two girls sat in front of the fire, steaming dry and eating chicken pies and sipping pumpkin juice.

When Cassiopeia's eyes drooped closed and her small blond head fell against Lily's shoulder, Lily decided that it was time to go up to bed.

"Come on, Cassie," she said, prodding the smaller girl awake. "We should go."

Cassiopeia nodded and stood up, blinking and yawning.

Lily and Cassiopeia thanked the house-elves, who bowed and curtsied them out of the door. Then they walked the dark, empty corridors up to Gryffindor Tower.

Dawn, Marica, Rose, and Andrew looked up as Lily and Cassiopeia came into the common room.

"Where _were_ you?" said Dawn, leaping off the couch. "You missed dinner!" She said it as though it were a crime.

"Er—outside," said Lily.

"_Outside?"_ said Rose incredulously. "In _that_?"

"Yes," said Cassiopeia, smiling sleepily. "And then we got dinner from the house-elves."

The other four looked at each other in confusion.

"You shouldn't make the house-elves do extra work," said Rose disapprovingly.

Cassiopeia was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"G'night," she said, waving to the other.

"Night, Cassiopeia," said Lily, Dawn, Marica, Rose, and Andrew.

"I think I'll go to bed too," said Lily a few minutes later. "I'm knackered."

"No wonder," said Marica. "Running about the school all night. You'd think you were turning into your brother."

Lily made a face. "Eurgh, no thanks," she said., and she went up to bed.

_*****_BWST_*****_

"Dawn! Dawn!" Andrew sprinted down the corridor, his large feet slapping the floor loudly. "Dawn! Wait up!"

Dawn stopped reluctantly and turned around to her boyfriend. "What?"

Andrew stopped in front of her, panting. "You left without me," he said accusingly.

"You didn't ask me to wait for you," said Dawn.

"But I'm your boyfriend, you're supposed to wait for me!"

"Where is that written?"

"Aw, come on, Dawn love." He tried to loop his arm through hers, but she shook him off.

"_Space,"_ snapped Dawn. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

Andrew pouted at her and put his arm around her.

She shoved him away. "Andrew! Just stop!"

"But _why_?" he asked, still pouting. "Love—"

"Stop _calling_ me that!"

"But Dawn, I'm supposed to, you're my girlfriend."

Dawn turned and looked at him levelly. "Not any more."

"What?"

"It's not working Andrew, it hasn't been for a while."

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," said Dawn. "Yes, I'm breaking up with you, Andrew."

"Why?"

"I don't want to go out with you anymore. Can't you tell that we're not working?"

"I thought we could just, you know, get over it..."

"And we tried. Didn't work."

Andrew looked at her with disappointed eyes. "I had fun going out with you, Dawn."

"I had fun with you too, Andrew," said Dawn.

Andrew made an attempt at his crooked, goofy grin, gave a jaunty salute, and walked off down the hall.

Cassiopeia came up beside Dawn. "It's a good thing," she said, putting her hand on the older girl's arm. "You weren't happy together anymore."

"I know." She shook her head to clear it. "Come on, let's go to class."

*****BWST*****

"Bonjour, oh radiant cousin of mine,"

"Hello Louis," said Lily, smiling as he slid onto the couch beside her. "What's new?"

"Not much," said Louis, running a hand through his silvery hair.

"How's Andrew?" asked Lily.

"He's okay," said Louis. "I mean, he's pretty sad that she dumped him but he's not angry or depressed or anything."

"I wonder how it's working with the Quidditch team." said Cassiopeia.

"They don't let it get in the way of their playing," said James, coming over and leaning over the back of the couch.

Lily tilted her head back to look at her brother.

"That's good," said Louis, twisting around in his seat to look at the older boy.

James grinned. "I told them after they broke up that if it messed up my Quidditch team they were out. Apparently they listened."

"Dawn listened? A miracle has happened!" said Marica.

Dawn came over and threw her stuff down on the table. "My ears are burning. You talking about me?"

"Yes," said Marica.

"Only terrible things," James joked.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at him. "Careful, I might chuck the Quaffle at your head during our next Quidditch practice."

"Ha, as if I couldn't dodge," James scoffed.

Dawn tossed her hair and flopped down onto the couch.

"Hey!" protested Lily. No room!"

A pushing match ensued, culminating with everyone falling on top of each other on the floor.

"Hmph!" sniffed Louis, standing up and brushing himself off. "How undignified."

James reached his hand down and helped Cassiopeia to her feet.

"Thanks," she muttered, staring at the floor.

James smiled down at her and then at Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Louis. "See you around."

"See you, James."

*****BWST*****

It was Wednesday night and Lily, Dawn, and Marica, who had been in the Astronomy Tower until midnight, were just finishing their Herbology homework when they heard the sound of the portrait hole swinging open.

Lily glanced up and saw a head of bushy red hair coming through the portrait hole.

"_Rose?"_

Rose started. "What are you still doing up?"

"We had Astronomy," said Lily. "What are _you_ doing out?"

Rose suddenly looked guilty. "I was...that is...never you mind," she said lamely.

Cassiopeia, who had been dozing in her favorite armchair, sat up and gave Rose a piercing look. Rose looked away.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Lily watched her cousin ascend the staircase. "What's up with her?" She turned to Cassiopeia, who quickly pretended to be asleep again.

*****BWST*****

Lily was awoken on the first of April by bright sunlight pouring in through the gap in her curtains. Jumping out of bed, she wrenched back the curtains, flooding the dorm with warm, yellow light.

"Sun!" she shouted happily. "No more rain!"

Marica and Paloma pulled their blankets over their heads and groaned. Brandi swore at her. Tamzen sat up and rubbed her eyes. Dawn slept on.

"What's the big deal?" asked Tamzen.

"It's sunny outside, look!" said Lily.

Tamzen threw off her covers and ran to the window. "You're right! Hey, Brandi, Brandi!" She shook the other girl's bed.

"Fuck off," said Brandi.

Tamzen was undeterred. "Brandi, the sun is shining!" She yanked the blankets off of her grouchy friend.

Brandi sat up and glared at her. Paloma and Marica, too, were sitting up and looking toward the open window.

Paloma glanced at Dawn. "How can she sleep through this?"

"Dawn wouldn't wake up if a mountain troll came crashing into the room," said Marica.

Lily had gotten dressed during the conversation, and now she grabbed her book bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"I'm going downstairs."

As she had expected, Cassiopeia was already downstairs, sitting in what had come to be known as "her" chair; the shaft of morning sunlight falling across the young girl seemed to make her glow.

"Hi, Cassie," said Lily, beaming.

"What are you so happy about?" asked Cassiopeia.

"It's sunny!"

Cassiopeia giggled. "I know. It's lovely, isn't it?"

"I thought you liked rain," said Lily.

"I do," said Cassiopeia. "That doesn't mean I can't also like sun."

Marica and a still half-asleep Dawn appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"Time for breakfast," Marica announced. "Classes weren't canceled for rain, they won't be canceled for sun."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" said Dawn wistfully.

*****BWST*****

Being the first truly nice weekend in months, practically the whole school was outside that Saturday. Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia were sitting in their favorite spot by the lake, in the shade of a large old tree. Marica was studying while Dawn lounged in the sun and Cassiopeia drilled Lily on her Spanish.

"Usa el imperfecto cuando...?"

"Para cosas duras en el pasado."

"Cosas que duran," corrected Cassiopeia.

"Coses que duran en el pasado," said Lily.

"Como...?"

"Cuando mi hermano Albus era niño, él lloraba todo el tiempo."

Cassiopeia laughed.

"¿Albus?" said Marica, "¡no me digas!"

"Si, es la verdad," said Lily. "Un bebe de llorar."

"Who's a crybaby?" said Louis, appearing around the tree and leaning against it.

"Albus," said Lily. "At least he used to be."

"I remember that. And shy enough to rival our mademoiselle Cassiopeia here."

"Really?" said Dawn, sitting up. "_Albus_ shy?"

"Uh huh," Lily nodded. "It wasn't until he met Malfoy that he became..."

"The Albus we all know and love?" suggested Marica.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, that," she said sarcastically.

"Maybe it'll happen with Cassiopeia," said Dawn.

Lily looked at the younger girl. "Do me a favor, Cassie, don't turn into my brother."

"If you'll do me one too," said Cassiopeia seriously.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Don't turn into mine."

Lily laughed, but she was surprised. She always got the impression that her friend revered her older brother.

Cassiopeia, as she often did, seemed to read her mind. "I love my brother dearly, but I think one of anyone is quite enough, don't you?"

Lily couldn't disagree with that one.

*****BWST*****

The beautiful weather held for the rest of the week, and that Sunday was the perfect day for a Quidditch match, which was lucky, since Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw. This year's Ravenclaw team was an imposing one. It was captained by Lina Shunpike, a talented beater, and she had put together a formidable group of players. Of course there was River, her fellow beater. And the newest addition to the team was feisty little Muggleborn second year Drake Print, who was a surprisingly good Chaser despite his small size. He and his fellow Chasers, Zana Finnigan and burly Travis Ackerley worked together beautifully. Hettie Davies, Andrew's cousin, made a very good Keeper, and Pam Boot was a lithe and quick Seeker. James had been training the Gryffindor team very hard over the past few weeks in preparation for the match.

Now Lily, Marica, and Cassiopeia were sitting in the stands, watching James, Dawn, Andrew, Jackson and Trenton Wood, Analise, and Yuri Hamasaki walk onto the field. James shook hands with Shunpike, and then the two teams took off into the air.

Both teams played superbly. The game was so intense that even Lily was captivated. James, Dawn, and Andrew swooped and dodged, passing the Quaffle constantly, Jackson and Trenton Wood hit Bludgers left and right, Analise zigzagged back and forth in front of the goal posts, and Yuri Hamasaki circled high above the other players, squinting around for the Snitch.

After two hours Lily was getting restless and the score was 200 to 230 in favor of Gryffindor.

"Look!" said Cassiopeia suddenly, grabbing Lily's arm.

Lily looked. Yuri Hamasaki and Pam Boot were speeding toward the Snitch, which was glinting on the other side of the pitch.

Boot was about a meter ahead of Yuri, and gaining ground steadily. Suddenly the three Gryffindor Chasers swooped in, cutting Boot off and forcing her to swerve upwards in order to avoid a collision. In those crucial seconds, Yuri shot forward and caught the fluttering golden ball in her fist.

Shouting and grinning, the Gryffindor team landed back on the pitch. James patted his Beaters on the backs, beamed at Yuri, gathered his fellow Chasers into a bone-crushing hug, and then pulled Analise into a kiss. Dawn and Andrew suddenly found themselves in each other's' arms for the first time in over a month. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, and then first Andrew then Dawn grinned.

"Good game," said Andrew.

"You too," said Dawn.

Then they rejoined the rest of the team in celebration.

**AN: Thank you for reading. I'm sorry I don't give translations for all of my other language stuff. I figure you can look it up online and it's kind of awkward just to stick it in there. **

**If you listen carefully you might hear the Review Faerie calling you... ;)**

**-SQ**


	16. Chapter 16: Attack of the Birch Trees

**Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter, the last full chapter of Lily' 4****th**** year :) It gave me grief as I was writing it. Ended up taking it down, revising, & reposting. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted, especially reviews. And thank you to everyone who is reading. That's what this is here for after all. Okay, I'll stop talking so you can get on with the chapter now.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Cassiopeia Malfoy, Dawn, Marica, and all my other OCs are mine. So's the plot. Everything else belongs to Jo.**

**Chapter Sixteen: Attack of the Birch Trees**

"Second to last Hogsmeade trip of the year," announced Marica as she came down the dormitory stairs to join Lily, Dawn, and Cassiopeia in the common room.

"Yep," agreed Lily. "And perfect weather for it."

"I don't think the weather's so perfect," grumbled Dominique from a nearby sofa. She glared out the open window at the trees that were beginning to bloom.

"What's she so unhappy about?" asked Cassiopeia.

"The trees," said Lily.

"Why would trees make anyone unhappy?" said Cassiopeia. "They're so pretty."

"Not if you're allergic to them they're not," said Dominique. "Atchoo! Can't someone _please_ shut that window?" She blew her nose. "Damn allergies," they heard her mutter.

Cassiopeia nodded. "Ah, I see. I'm lucky, I'm not allergic to anything. Scorpius is though."

"Oh?" said Lily. "I didn't know that."

"Yes," said Cassiopeia. "He's allergic to cats and dogs. Send him sneezing and coughing all over the place." She smiled slightly. "It'd be funny if it didn't make poor Scorp so miserable."

Lily highly doubted that 'poor Scorp' was a phrase she would ever be using.

"Let's go," said Dawn. "I want to get to Honeydukes. I'm nearly out of candy!"

"I find that very hard to believe, Dawn," said Lily, laughing. "You'd never let yourself run out of candy."

"Exactly, that's why I need to buy more!" said Dawn.

"Bye, Cassie," said Lily.

"Bye," said Cassiopeia. "See you three tonight."

*****BWST*****

The three girls walked down the stairs, through then entrance hall, and into the bright spring sunshine. As they approached the entrance to the village they heard running footsteps behind them.

"Hey girls, wait up."

Lily, Dawn, and Marica stopped and turned. Louis trotted up and fell into step with them. "Bonjour, mademoiselles," he said.

"Bonjour, Louis," said the girls, giggling.

Louis offered Lily his arm and she took it, but they hadn't gone three steps before Louis stopped again.

"Louis?" said Lily.

"A-A-Atchoo!" said Louis. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his nose with it.

"Are you sick, Louis?" asked Marica.

But Lily shook her head. "It's allergy season for you too, isn't it Louis?"

Her cousin nodded. Lily put an arm around him, she knew how miserable his allergies made him.

"Why are you even out here? It's a pollen minefield." She gestured to the air, in which pollen could literally be seen floating. "Domi's staying in, and your allergies are even worse than hers."

"I'm not going to miss Hogsmeade because of some stupid allergies," said Louis. "Anyway, it's not really that ba-a-a-Atchoo!" he sneezed.

"Right," said Lily. "You're a fool. But we already knew that. Since you're already here you might as well come on. Tell me if it gets too bad and we'll go inside for a bit, okay?"

"You don't have to baby me," said Louis in annoyance. "I'm _older_ than you."

"Come on my _older_ cousin," said Lily, keeping her arm around Louis's waist. "We're on our way to Honeydukes."

Louis was a little sniffly on the way to the sweet shop, but not too bad. Lily did notice him scrunching his eyes a bit, as though they were itching him.

"Here we are," announced Dawn unnecessarily. "Honeydukes sweet shop." She licked her lips. "Hurry up! Let's go inside!"

As usual, they spent a good deal of time in the sweet shop. Lily, Marica, and Louis carefully selecting what to purchase while Dawn threatened to buy out the entire store.

"It's a wonder you're not fat as the Fat Friar," said Marica, eying Dawn's copious pile of sweets.

"I have a fast metabolism," said Dawn.

"I swear, Dawn, you're going to have diabetes by the time you're twenty," said Lily.

"Am not!" said Dawn. "I don't eat _only_ sweets!"

"You're right," said Marica. "You just eat _mostly_ sweets."

Dawn stuck out her tongue at her.

*****BWST*****

As soon as they left the store, Louis was seized by another fit of sneezes.

"Atchoo! Atchoo! Atchoo!"

"Louis," said Lily, rubbing his back. "This isn't good for you, being out here right now. Look at all the pollen in the air! You're breathing that stuff in right now! And you're allergic to it!"

Louis rubbed his watering eyes. "I'b fine, Lily," he said hoarsely. "I'b not going back up to the school now. And I'b not _that_ allergic to it."

"You _are_ that allergic to it and you know it!" said Lily.

She had a terrible memory of when they were nine and ten. She, Hugo, and Louis, the only three not yet at school, had been playing outside in the yard...Louis had started coughing...and then he had started wheezing...and then he had stopped breathing... Lily had run into the house screaming for Aunt Fleur, who had rushed him to Saint Mungo's...

Louis saw the memory on his cousin's face.

"Relax, Lily," he said, wheezing slightly. "I'b fifteen, not ten, that's not going to happed again."

Lily stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Louis on the cheek. "Alright, Lou," she said. "It's just that you seem so miserable."

Louis coughed. "I'll be okay. It's just a little pollen. I ca-a-a-Atchoo! can handle it."

The four of them walked down the street a little ways and then sat down on a park bench to enjoy their newly purchased treats.

Louis blew his nose into his handkerchief and then looked up. "Oh _no_!" he moaned. "Lily, don't let those girls see be like this!"

He ducked behind her, out of sight of the group of fifth year Ravenclaws who were walking up the street in front of them.

"Vous êtes si _vain_," said Lily, hiding her cousin from view of the girls.

"Can I help it if I don't want theb to ruin their ibpression of be?" asked Louis, blowing his nose again.

"If you ever get a serious girlfriend, Louis, she's going to find out that you have allergies," said Marica.

"I'll cross that bridge when I cub to it," said Louis. "A-A-Atchoo!"

Lily patted his back. "Vous fou, fou imbécile," she said fondly.

*****BWST*****

The four of them had moved up by the Shrieking Shack and had been sitting under a tree for several minutes when Louis, whose wheezing and sniffling had been becoming progressively worse, again looked up and swore.

"What?" said Dawn. "More girls?"

"Doe," said Louis. He pointed above their heads. "Those."

"You sound worse," said Marica.

"Look," said Louis.

The girls looked up.

"What?" said Dawn, sounding confused. "They're trees."

"They're dot just trees," said Louis, his eyes watering.

"They're birch trees," said Lily, eyes widening.

"And what's so bad about that?" asked Dawn.

"What's so bad about it," said Louis thickly. "Is that I'b really _really_ allergic to bi-i-i-Atchooo! birch trees."

He began to sneeze uncontrollably. "Atchoo! Atchoo! Atchoo! Atchoo! Atchoo!"

Now Lily remembered...that day when they were little...she, Hugo, and Louis had been playing under a grove birch trees...Louis had been trying to climb one...

"Come on, Lou," she said. "We have to get you away from these things." She wrapped her arm around his waist and led him away from the trees, Marica and Dawn following.

Louis was still sneezing.

"Atchoo! D-d-d-Atchoo! Dod't let adyode see be Atchoo! like this, Lily."

Lily, Louis, Dawn, and Marica went into the Three Broomsticks and chose a booth. Dawn and Marica both looked a little scared.

"He's having an asthma attack," Lily explained, rubbing Louis's back. "It's happens sometimes when his allergies get really bad. "Louis? Can you breath okay?"

"S-sort of," said Louis unconvincingly. "Yeah—I'm alright."

Lily looked at Louis. He was still wheezing and his eyes were red and starting to swell.

"Lou," she said, "did you take your allergy potion this morning?"

"Er—" said Louis. "I think I forgot..."

"Louis!" said Lily. "Are you insane? No wonder you're having an asthma attack. Did you at least bring your other potion?"

"Er—no..."

"Lou, you're hopeless," said Lily. She handed him a glass of water. "Drink this."

Louis drank it gratefully. "Has adyode seed be?" he asked.

"You are so _vain_!" cried Lily. "Here I am making sure you can _breathe_ properly, and you're asking if anyone's _seen_ you!"

"I'b sorry, Lils," said Louis. "Thake you." He hugged her.

She hugged him back. "No, I don't think anyone's seen you," she said. She held an icepack that she had requested from the bartender up to Louis's eyes.

"I cad't believe I was so _stupid_," Louis wheezed. "I _doe_ dever to go dear birch trees. I _doe_ how allergic do theb I ab. Ad thed I go ad sit dowd right id the middle of a grove of theb." He blew his nose on his napkin and absently scratched the skin on his arm.

Lily noticed this and picked up Louis's hand, turning it over. "Oh Louis," she said. "You have an awful rash all over your arms. I _told_ you there was pollen everywhere in the air today."

Louis nodded. "You did. Ad I igdored you. Ad I really should have taked by potiod, it's just hard to rebeber to take theb to take them whed I odly have allergies two modths out of the year. It's dot your fault, Lils."

"I know," said Lily. "It's yours. 'Cause you're a fool." She tugged his hair. "Come on, Mr. Debonair, we're going back to the castle. You two can stay here," she added to Dawn and Marica. "No need for my fool of a cousin to ruin your day. I'm done with shopping anyway."

*****BWST*****

Lily and Louis stopped at the kitchens to get some tea from the house-elves before continuing up to Gryffindor Tower. As Louis sniffled and wheezed beside her, and Lily patted his back, she wondered exactly when he had become her favorite cousin.

When they came through the portrait hole Cassiopeia looked up from her book. "You're back early," she said, surprised. "Why—Merlin, Louis what happened?" She leapt out of her chair and ran over to them.

"Relax, Cassie, I'b fide," said Louis. "It's just allergies. Atchoo!"

Cassiopeia frowned. "Louis," she said, "you sound awful. I think you'd better lay down."

Louis reclined on the couch and grinned, looking at Cassiopeia through his swollen eyes. "Dod't worry about be," he said, sipping his tea.

"You ought to go to the hospital wing," said Cassiopeia, listening to him wheeze heavily.

"Are you kidding? Madab Pobfrey would dever led be out of there!"

"Louis?" asked Lily. "Can you breath any better now?"

"Er—dot really," admitted Louis. "I think I got a lot of birch p-p-p-Atchoo! polled id by lugs." He coughed.

"Oh for Merlin's sake," said Lily. _"Accio Louis's asthma and allergy potion."_ The potion came zooming down the stairs. Lily caught it, uncorked it, and handed it to Louis.

"Merci, Lily, détendez, I've had asthma attacks because of by allergies before," said Louis, sipping the potion. His wheezing eased almost at once.

Coming down the stairs, Dominique gasped when she saw her brother lying on the couch.

"Louis! What the hell did you do? Sit down in the middle of a grove of birch trees?"

"Well, actually..." said Louis, a little sheepishly.

"Are you serious?" said Dominique. "Louis, I can't believe you. I really can't. Why would you even go out today? The air's teaming with pollen, and you have _terrible_ allergies."

Louis shrugged. "I still had fud," he said. "Atchoo!"

"You're having an asthma attack!"

"I'b getting over it," he said.

"The imbécil forgot to take his potion this morning," said Lily, stroking her cousin's hair.

Dominique rolled her eyes. "Louis, you are too much. You should really go take a b-b-b-atchoo! bath. You have birch pollen all over you." She rubbed her own eyes, which were beginning to redden. "Go!"

Louis stood up, "Merci, ma soeur," he said, and gave her a hug before starting off toward the bathrooms.

"Louis, vous idiot," she shouted after him, shaking her fist. "Pollen de bouleau partout je! Atchoo! Atchoo! Atchoo!"

*****BWST*****

It couldn't have been a finer May. The weather was pleasantly warm without being too hot, the breeze was pleasantly cool without being too cold, and the flowers began to bloom in glorious colors. Of course, it made staying inside for class pure torture, as every student in the school longed to be outside enjoying the nice weather.

The first Saturday of the month, Cassiopeia was sitting by the window, studying Spanish (if she was going to help Lily learn she had to improve her own skills in the language), enjoying the sounds of a shrill, chirping birdsong coming through the window. Curious as to what type of bird she was hearing, she laid down her work and turned around to peer out of the open window.

"Oh!" she said, letting the book she was holding slide to the floor. Sitting on the branch in front of her was the smallest bird she had ever seen.

"Lily!" she said, not turning away from the window. "Louis! Dawn! Marica! Come and see!"

"What is it?" said Lily, coming up beside her.

"Look," she pointed at the minuscule bird.

"Oh how cute!" said Lily.

"It's adorable," said Dawn.

The little bird cocked its head at them and emitted several shrill trills.

"What are you looking at, mademoiselles?" asked Louis.

"Oh Louis, you must see," said Cassiopeia, stepping out of the way to give Louis a view of the bird.

He stuck his head out of the window. "Oh wow," he said. "That's a Firecrest. They're endangered."

Cassiopeia leaned farther out the the window, and Louis did as well, putting an arm around her waist to keep her from falling. A gust of wind blew toward them, ruffling the leaves on the maple tree. The little bird gave a hop and flew away. Louis sneezed.

"Atchoo!"

"Oh Louis, I'm sorry," said Cassiopeia. "I forgot." She shimmied back in through the window.

"I _hate_ being allergic to tree pollen," said Louis, pulling his own head back inside.

Lily patted his shoulder.

"If you'd use some common sense and not always go outside when the tree pollen is blowing everywhere you wouldn't be constantly sneezing during the spring," said Dominique from the other side of the room.

"I'm not going to let my allergies run my life," said Louis, blowing his nose and wiping his watering eyes. "I'll do what I want, screw trees."

Cassiopeia shook her head. "Imbécile."

Louis laughed. "That's what Lily said."

*****BWST*****

"Bonjour, mademoiselles," said Louis, sliding into a seat beside Cassiopeia and across from Marica and Dawn a few days later.

"Hi Louis."

"Bonjour, Louis."

Cassiopeia looked around and then said in low voice, "Dawn, Marica, when is Lily going to get here?"

"She should be here soon," said Marica. "She stayed back to ask Professor Thomas a question."

"Good," said Cassiopeia. "I have something to talk to you three about before she gets back..."

*****BWST*****

"Cassie, where are you taking me?" asked Lily as Cassiopeia practically dragged her down the marble steps.

"Be patient," admonished Cassiopeia.

They went through the front doors and emerged into the mid-May sunshine.

"Where—?"started Lily again, but Cassiopeia pointed toward Hagrid's cabin.

"What are we doing here?" asked Lily. "I mean, I like Hagrid and all, but—"

"Let's go around back," said Cassiopeia.

Lily followed her friend to the other side of the cabin and gasped. There was a large group of people there, gathered around a table heaped with balloons, cake, and presents.

"Wha—what?"

"Happy Birthday!" said the crowd, grinning. Her entire family who attended Hogwarts was there, plus all of her dorm-mates and a few others.

Louis came up to her, kissed her hand, and bowed. "Pour vous, joyeux anniversaire mademoiselle."

Lily grinned back at him. "Louis, did you plan this?"

"I planned it," said Louis, "but it was Cassie's idea."

"Thank you," said Lily, beaming around at her friends and relatives.

"What are you waiting for?" shouted Hugo, pushing his way toward her and giving her a big hug. "There's cake!"

Lily cut the cake and Cassiopeia and Louis helped her serve it out to her guests. Then they went and sat down on the grass with the others.

"You enjoying your Atchoo! party so far?" asked Louis.

Lily nodded.

"I'm glad," Dominique said. She sniffled. "Louis's talked of little else for the past week."

"Why did you plan it outside though, Louis?" asked Lily. "It's wreaking havoc with your and Domi's allergies."

"Because it's so beautiful out he-he-he-Atchoo! here." said Louis. "And I know you love spring."

Lily frowned. "But you can't stop sneezing!"

"Don't frown, Lily," said Domi. "It's you're birthday."

Lily smiled. "Domi, how did Louis get you to agree to this? You hardly even set foot outside during allergy season."

"I wasn't going to miss your birthday party." said Dominique indignantly. "I can deal with these stupid allergies for one d-d-d-Atchoo! day. Atchoo!" She blew her nose. "If Louis can do it then I certainly can."

Lily and Cassiopeia looked at Louis. His eyes were watering but he had a big grin on his face.

"I can't believe you planned this whole thing with such awful allergies," said Lily.

"Are you kidding?" said Louis. "I _love_ pl-pl-pl-Atchoo! planning parties."

"You could have had it inside, though," Lily pointed out.

"Not nearly as fun," said Louis. "Atchoo!"

"You call this fun?" said Lily. "Sneezing every five seconds?"

"Ce n'est pas important," said Louis, waving a hand.

Cassiopeia handed him a tissue.

"Thanks, Cassie," he said, wiping his nose.

"Did you at least take your allergy potion?"

"Yes Lily," said Louis. "Give me some credit. I wouldn't ruin your birthday party by having an asthma attack." He took a vial out of his pocket. "I brought my other potion too, just in case."

Hugo came bounding up and grabbed Lily's hands, acting for all the world like the old Hugo. "C'mon Lils, presents!"

*****BWST*****

Nearly two hours later, when all the presents had been opened, everyone was full of cake, and the sun was beginning to sink in the sky, Lily felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around and found herself face to face with River Thurshall.

"Hi, Lily," he said.

"Hi," said Lily.

"I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. And to give you this." He handed her a small box.

Lily untied the ribbon, opened the box, and pulled out a new eagle feather quill. "Thank you, River!" she said with genuine gratitude. "I love it."

"I'm glad," said River, smiling. He shifted slightly on his feet. "I know this might be really awkward, but I was wondering if you still wanted to be friends. Just friends," he added.

"Of course," said Lily, feeling slightly relieved. "Of course we can still be friends. Just friends."

There was only a very little bit of sadness in River's smile as he said. "Good, I'd hate to ruin such a good friendship. Happy birthday, Lily."

*****BWST*****

"It's June!" sang Dawn as the four friends and Rose walked back to the common room after dinner. "June, June, June! Just because it's June! June!"

"Oh do shut _up_," said Marica. "You've been singing that song all day!"

"What _is_ that song?" asked Rose.

"It's a song from an American Muggle musical called Carousel," said Dawn.

"Is it any good?" asked Cassiopeia curiously. "The musical I mean."

"Nope!" said Dawn cheerily, and continued to sing.

*****BWST*****

Exams were fast approaching, and stress levels were rising. Strangely though, Rose, while still very focused on her studies, seemed much happier this June than she had in previous years. She went around with a big smile almost perpetually on her face, and when she snapped at people for bothering her it lacked its usual ferocity.

"What's got Rose in such a good mood?" asked Lily, watching her cousin come through the portrait hole with a big grin on her face.

"I dunno," said Dawn, "but I'm liking it."

Marica nodded. Cassiopeia was suddenly very busy with her Defense Against the Dark Arts review.

Louis came and sat down next to them. His usually pristine hair looked a little ruffled and his eyes were faintly red and puffy.

"What's up, Louis?" asked Lily. "Everything alright?"

"It's these dab O.W.L. exams," said Louis, wiping his nose with a tissue. "Rose was right. They're driving be up the wall." He coughed and blew his nose.

"Allergies still bothering you?" said Marica sympathetically.

Louis nodded. "Dab trees are still bl-bl-bl—Atchoo! bloobing all over the place. Especially the f-ing birches." He wiped his nose again. "They're getting Dobi real bad too. And she's got her Atchoo! Atchoo! Atchoo! N.E.W.T.s this year."

Lily and Cassiopeia glanced over to where Dominique was sitting on the other side of the room, continuously wiping her running nose on a tissue and flipping the pages of her Divination text book feverishly. Every few minutes she let out a harsh storm of sneezes.

"Have you been taking your potions?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Yeah, we both have," said Louis. "I dunno why they're so bad this year. Baybe we need stronger potions." He sniffled again and Lily went over and hugged him.

"Don't stress," she told him. "You'll do fine on you O.W.L.s

Cassiopeia touched his arm. "You know we're sitting right by the window, and there are several large maple and birch trees right outside. It'd probably help some if you didn't sit with us."

Louis shook his head. "I'b so allergic to the dab things it doesn't really batter where I s-s-s-Atchoo! sit, they'll get to be anyway. Just do be a favor. If I start wheezing really badly bake be go lie down or subthing."

All four girls nodded, as did Rose, who had just come over.

"Louis, your mother would kill you if she knew how much you try and ignore your allergies," said Rose sternly.

"What by bother does't kn-kn-kn-Atchoo! know won't hurt her," he said, rubbing his swollen eyes. "Only be," he added ruefully.

*****BWST*****

Exams came and went, and Louis and Dominique made it through their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in spite of their allergies. It now the very last Hogsmeade weekend of term.

"Louis, are you sure you want to come to Hogsmeade?" asked Lily, eying her cousin.

"Yes, I'm sure, ma chérie," he said. "I'm not going to miss the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year."

"But you're miserable out there."

"I'm not. I still have fun. And the pollen's not nearly so bad today, I checked. I think the season's winding down. Besides, you won't have to listen to me sneezing. I'm going with some of my other friends."

"It's not that we mind listening to you sneezing and you know it!" said Lily.

"Je sais," said Louis. "I'll be fine. I have allergies every year, remember. I know how to take care of myself. And yes, I took my potion."

"Je sais," said Lily. "Avez l'amusement."

"Sometimes I don't think he does know how to take care of himself," said Lily to Cassiopeia once Louis had left. "He can be such a...such a child sometimes."

"And you don't have to live with him," commented Dominique from across the room.

*****BWST*****

It was the second to last day of term Lily and Cassiopeia were on their way up to Gryffindor Tower after visiting Hagrid. Cassiopeia stopped for a moment to tie her shoe and Lily, not noticing, turned the next corner by herself. Then she froze, not believing the sight that she saw before her eyes; the dark red hair flowing into the pale blond...It couldn't be. It just couldn't. The couple turned their faces toward her and she dropped her books with a crash.

Forgetting her untied laces, Cassiopeia ran toward the sound, rounding the corner and then stopping short. Lily was standing there, gaping at a very embarrassed looking couple who had obviously been snogging. Rose Weasley's robes were half off her shoulders and Scorpius still had her pressed up against a wall.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" shouted Lily, shocked into swearing.

"We—we—er—" started Rose, flustered, pulling her robes straight.

"We were snogging until you interrupted us," said Scorpius.

"_Why?"_ demanded Lily.

"Because Rose is my girlfriend," said Scorpius. "Got a problem with that?"

_Yes! _Yes Lily _did_ have a problem with that! Rose, her cousin Rose, dating Scorpius Malfoy? It was—it was—she didn't even know what it was!

"What—when—how—" sputtered Lily, uncharacteristically speechless.

"Well, we've kind of liked each other since the beginning of the year," said Rose, blushing slightly. "But we only started officially going out in April."

"Since _April_?" said Lily.

"Lily," said Rose, suddenly annoyed, "It's my business who I date, not yours. Butt out."

Lily turned on Cassiopeia. "You knew didn't you? You knew all along!"

"I suspected," said Cassiopeia.

"I bet Hugo knew too, and he didn't tell me."

"Well, yeah," said Rose. "Al and Hugo knew."

Lily threw up her hands. "Obviously no one bothers to tell _me_ anything around here!" And she stormed off, not sure whether she felt more disgusted or more hurt.

**AN: Yay! 4****th**** year is finally over (well, basically). Not that I didn't like it, but I'm eager to get on to 5****th**** year. Yes, yes, I know some of you still hate River, but trust me, he's out of the romantic picture for good, really. They're just friends again. I mean, they had been for over 3 years.**

**And yes, I seem to not be able to write a fic without running into some sort of sicfic element, sorry.**

**And Rose and Scorpius are finally together! Lily's not taking it so well, though, is she?**

**I know it was a pretty packed chapter, tell me what you thought of it, huh? I don't care how long ago this was posted or how many more chapters are up by now.**

**-SQ**


	17. Chapter 17: With This Ring I Thee Wed

**Author's Note: I hope you like the chapter. It's not the must eventful but oh well, not every chapter can be action-packed.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Or Lily Potter, or any other canon character. I do own Cassiopeia Malfoy though. She's all mine, less-than-three**

**Chapter Seventeen: With This Ring I Thee Wed**

"Lily? Lily?"

"Go away."

"Lily, may I come in?"

"No."

Cassiopeia cracked the door and slipped into the room.

"I said _no_, Cassie!"

"Lily, you can't mope around in here forever. Look," she picked up Lily's still full school bag, "you haven't even packed."

Lily looked up and glared at her. "How can she date him? We've always hated him! He's a selfish, conceited, cocky—Malfoy!"

"He's my brother," said Cassiopeia. "And I'm a Malfoy."

"I know," said Lily, "but you're—you're different."

"Do you really hate the fact that she's dating him?" asked Cassiopeia, sitting down beside Lily. "Or do you only hate the fact that she didn't tell you?"

"I—I—I—I don't know!" said Lily. "Both!"

"Did you ever think that she didn't tell you because she knew this was how you would react?"

Lily thumped her fist down on her comforter. "It isn't fair," she said. "What does she see in him?"

"I might not be the best person to answer that question," said Cassiopeia, "seeing as he's my brother. But he's not as bad as you think he is. Not all the time. Do you really think your cousin would like him if he was? Or your brother for that matter."

"No," said Lily grudgingly, rubbing her silver bracelet with her thumb, "I guess not. But I still can't believe Rose is dating _Malfoy_."

Cassiopeia smiled. "Maybe she'll reform him."

Lily laughed. "Ha. Fat chance. I still don't like him. Or the fact that my cousin's dating him."

"You don't have to," said Cassiopeia. "He really has no lack of admiration."

"Including from you," said Lily shrewdly.

"Well yes," said Cassiopeia. "He is my big brother."

"Hmph," said Lily. "I don't hero worship Al or James and they're my big brothers."

"I don't hero worship him," protested Cassiopeia. "He just...he understands me. It's nice to have someone like that, you know?

"Yeah," said Lily, fingering the threads encircling her wrist. _I wish I did..._

*****BWST*****

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica boarded the train together the next morning. Louis, who was for the most part over his allergies, winked at them and walked off with a group of giggling fifth year girls. As they were getting on the train Lily caught sight of Rose briefly. She was walking with Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo; she and Scorpius were next to each other, and they kept brushing against each other. Lily looked away.

The four girls chose a compartment and settled in. About ten minutes into the ride, the compartment door opened and a head poked inside. "Er—can I sit with you?"

Lily stared at the boy. He was tall and heavyset and something about him looked vaguely familiar...

"Oh, sure!" said Marica.

"I don't know if you remember me," said the boy, "but I'm—"

"Clarence Fleet! Of course I remember you! I danced with you at Louis Weasley's party!

The boy grinned sheepishly. "Yep, that's me. And stepped all over your feet I don't wonder."

"No, you dance well," said Marica.

"I don't, but thanks for the compliment anyway." He sat down next to Marica. "How've you been?"

"Well." said Marica. "I've been well. How about you Clarence?"

"I have too. Been well I mean," said Clarence. "And you can call me Clark. Everyone does."

*****BWST*****

The train ride back to King's Cross station was uneventful. When the food trolley came by they all bought lunch as well as several treats to share, and then passed the time playing Wizards' Chess and BS. Marica, who was secretary of the Wizards' Chess Club, won nearly every game. The only ones who gave her any competition at all were Cassiopeia and Clark.

"You're really good," said Marica in surprise when Clark had neatly checkmated her. "Why aren't you in the Wizards' Chess Club?"

Clark shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I never really thought about it."

"You should join next year," said Marica. "I'm Secretary."

"Remind me next year," said Clark. "I'm bound to forget over the summer."

"That's what the summer is for, isn't it?" said Dawn.

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica looked at each other and laughed.

"If I didn't forget everything over the summer there wouldn't be room for all of the new stuff every year," said Dawn.

"If you didn't forget everything over the summer you wouldn't have to relearn all of the old stuff every year," said Marica.

*****BWST*****

The Hogwarts express finally slowed and pulled into platform 9 ¾ where the students' parents were waiting for them.

Marica looked over at her mother and groaned. "Oh _no_."

"What?" said Lily, Cassiopeia, and Dawn at the same time.

"My mother's got that look on her face. And look, she's holding my headscarf. My grandparents must be visiting."

Lily laughed. "Aw, come on, it can't be that bad."

"I love them, I do," said Marica. "And I don't have any problem with _them_ being good Muslims, but they can't seem to get it through their heads that I'm not. Oh well," she sighed. "I'd better get going. See you later, girls." And, waving, she trotted off toward her mother.

"Bye, Marica!" the other three shouted after her.

"_Daw_nie! _Daw_nie! Oh-vah hee-yah _Daw_nie!"

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Dawn looked up. Dawn's three-and-a-half year old brother was waving at them from his mother's arms, his brown hair flopping into his eyes as he bounced up and down excitedly.

Lily and Cassiopeia laughed.

"Your brother, I assume," said Cassiopeia, watching the excited toddler with amusement. "Must run in the family."

Dawn grinned. "Old Hartly family trait," she said. "I'd better go before he gets loose. Bye Lily! Bye Cassie!" And, giving them each a brief hug she ran off toward her wriggling, squealing brother.

Lily and Cassiopeia looked at each other.

"I'd better go," said Cassiopeia, glancing over her shoulder. "Scorpius is going to be over to get me in a minute. He's—er—just saying goodbye to your cousin."

Lily chose not to look. "Yeah, I'd better get going too. It always takes a while for my family to actually get sorted out."

Cassiopeia nodded. "I would imagine," she said, laughing.

Lily grinned. "See you around, okay?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "Write to me?"

"Only if you write to me," said Lily.

"Well..." Cassiopeia pretended to think about it, "I guess so..."

Both girls laughed and hugged each other.

"Cassie?" Scorpius was coming toward them.

"That's my cue," said Cassiopeia, and she slipped off through the crowd to join her brother.

When Lily joined her own family it was to find James looking rather shell-shocked.

"I'm done," he said in a slightly dazed sort of voice. "I'm _done_."

"Bravo, James," said Dominique. "We are indeed done."

"Don't you find that weird at all?" asked James. "I mean, we're never going back to Hogwarts."

Dominique shrugged. "I'm ready to leave. Not that I didn't like it or anything, but I mean, we spent seven years there."

James just shook his head.

"You could always go back as a teacher," said Albus teasingly.

"Ahh, no!" said James, sounding horrified.

Everyone laughed.

"Come on, teaching can't be that bad," said Harry. "Neville does it."

"Notice you never tried," said Ginny.

"I did too," Harry protested. "I taught the D.A. in my fifth year."

"Not the same thing, mate," said Ron.

*****BWST*****

"How do I look?" asked Victoire, doing a slow revolution on the spot.

"Magnifique" said her sister. "Let me just fix your hair." She reached up and adjusted the jeweled pins holding Vicotire's elegant halo of curls in place. "Parfaite. You make a wonderful bride."

Victoire beamed. "You look lovely too," she said. "All of you."

Victoire, Dominique, Lily, Rose, Molly, Lucy, and Roxanne were gathered in the parlor of number twelve Grimmauld Place, putting the finishing touches on their outfits before the wedding ceremony began. As bridesmaids, Lily, Rose, Molly, Lucy, and Roxanne were wearing scoop-neck wine-colored dresses with short, loose sleeves and fitted bodices and matching strappy heels. All their hair was French-braided and pinned up on top of their heads. Dominique, as the Maid of Honor, had a dress of the same wine-color, but with an off-the-shoulder cowl-neck, and her French-braids were woven with butter-yellow flowers.

"It's almost time for the wedding to start!" said Fleur, coming into the room in a state of high agitation. "Oh Victoire, you look lovely. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mama, I'm ready," she said. "We're all ready."

"Good, good," said Fleur. She kissed Victoire on the cheek. "Ma petite fille est tout grandie," she said tearfully.

"C'est bien Mama. Allez dire le père que je suis prêt"

"Oui, oui," said Fleur, and left.

A few moments later Lily's uncle Bill entered the room.

"You look gorgeous, my dear," he said, smiling at his daughter.

"Thank you, Papa," said Victoire. "Is it time?"

"Yes," said Bill. "Are you ready?"

Victoire looked nervous, but she nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm ready."

The groomsmen entered the tent then. James, the Best Man, in the lead.

"Are you ready, Mademoiselles?" asked Louis, winking at them.

All six girls nodded their heads. Each groomsman took a bridesmaid's arm; James with Dominique, Teddy's best friend Patrick Abercrombie with Molly, Fred with Lucy, Louis with Roxanne, Albus with Rose, and Hugo with Lily. Hugo grinned at her.

"Hey Lily," he whispered.

"Hey Hugo," she answered.

"Exciting isn't it?" he said, poking her in the side.

Lily nodded, suppressing a giggle. "Shhh, Hugo," she said, hitting him playfully. "This is serious!"

This cracked both of them up, and they only managed to contain themselves when Lucy shot them a dirty look.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen formed a line, with James and Dominique bringing up the rear, and left the tent. Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, each with a small plush pillow bearing a ring, joined them and led the way, accompanied by Patrick Abercrombie's daughter Cloe, who was only three, with her basket of flower petals on her arm.

As they neared the wedding platform the processional music began to play. Teddy was standing on the platform, grinning like an idiot.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen reached the platform and turned in expectation, watching the isle. Victoire appeared on the arm of her father. She looked happy but nervous as she came up to join them on the platform.

The old wizard presiding over the ceremony began to drone on, and Lily let her eyes wander over the crowd. Her entire extended family was there, as well as several friends of Teddy, Victoire, and the family. Harry was smiling proudly as he watched Teddy, his eyes suspiciously moist. Fleur, Ginny, and Lily's grandmother were openly crying, and Teddy's grandmother Andromeda was watching with an almost nostalgic expression on her face. Hagrid was there too, tears dripping from his shaggy beard, as were Neville and Hannah Longbottom and Rolf and Luna Scamander.

Lily tuned back in to the wedding ceremony

"I, Victoire Apolline Delacour, take you, Teddy Remus Lupin, to be my lawfully wedded husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward. In the presence of our family and friends here before us, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for all the days of my life."

Teddy, unusually solemn, picked up the ring that Lorcan was holding.

"I give you this ring, with all that I am and all that I will be, as a symbol of the promise we have made to each other. With this ring, I thee wed." He slipped the ring onto Victoire's slender finger.

She smiled and picked up the ring that Lysander was holding.

"I give you this ring, will all that I am and all that I will be, as a symbol of the promise we have made to each other. With this ring, I thee wed."

The old wizard cleared his throat. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Teddy tenderly lifted Victoire's veil and pulled her into a kiss.

Fred wolf whistled. Teddy shot him a good-natured glare as he and Victoire broke apart. "You're next," he mouthed.

Fred pretended to look scared.

The wedding party began to process out. Teddy and Victoire went first, gazing lovingly at each other. Next came James and Dominique, followed by the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen from oldest to youngest. Behind them came Cloe, Lorcan, and Lysander. The ushers, Lily's aunts, uncles, and grandparents as well as Alison Corner, Victoire's best friend from her Hogwarts days, and her husband Sean, rose from their chairs and followed them out, dismissing the other guests from their chairs as they left.

*****BWST*****

_Dear Lily,_

_Hi, how was the wedding? I've never been to one, was it fun being a bridesmaid? I wish I could be one, but there's no one I know well enough who's getting married. I bet you looked lovely in your dress. Will you send me a picture? I wish your cousin and godbrother happiness in their marriage._

_How is your summer going? Have you done anything exciting (besides the wedding of course)? I hope you and Rose and Louis and everyone are well. Tell them hello from me._

_I am doing well. So far I haven't done anything particularly exciting, but my family and I leave tomorrow for our annual trip to France. _

_Scorpius, who is abysmal at writing letters, sends his love to Rose and tells Albus hi. I know you don't want to hear about Scorpius, but please just pass on his messages, will you?_

_I really wish I had more to write you about, but I guess my life isn't really all that interesting. Not that I'm complaining; I've noticed that the things that make one's life the most interesting tend to make it the least enjoyable. _

_You're studying your Spanish, right? I'm studying mine; it wouldn't do for you to surpass me because I was lazy, would it?_

_I miss you,_

_Your friend,_

_Cassiopeia Malfoy_

_*****BWST*****_

_Dear Cassie,_

_The wedding was really great. The ceremony itself wasn't particularly interesting, but everything else was. Victoire looked gorgeous (as usual) in her wedding gown, and Teddy was really handsome. Being a bridesmaid was pretty fun. I'll probably get to do it several more times too, since I'm the youngest girl in my family. Tell you what though, when I get married you can be one of my bridesmaids, deal? You, Dawn, and Marica, if none of you are married before me. But I'm getting way ahead of myself, that's ages away._

_The wedding's pretty much been the entirety of the summer so far; with Grandma and Mum and Aunt Fleur all planning it you know it had to be a big affair._

_You're in France by now, right? That's so cool! I'm jealous, even though I speak fluent French I've never been. You should take lots of pictures, okay?_

_Speaking of pictures, I'm attaching a picture of all of us at the wedding. (I'm the shortest bridesmaid, the one on the left)._

_Y s__í__, estoy estudiando mi espa__ñol. ¡No quiero parecer estúpida!_

_Everyone says hi._

_I miss you too,_

_Your friend,_

_Lily Potter_

_*****BWST*****_

_Lily,_

_Hey! How are you? How's the GIANT family? Haha. Did you have fun at the wedding? What did everyone look like? Will you send me a picture? Or lots! What was the cake like? Do you have a picture of that? I bet it was _delicious_! Your grandmother made it right? I want some! But I bet you ate it all, huh? No fair._

_Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and stuff. I've been doing normal old Muggle stuff. My cousins came over and then I ended up babysitting while the grown-ups went out, "not" to the casino..._

_Hope you're having a super-duper fantaboulous summer!_

_Oh yeah, say hi to everyone and give my congratulations to Teddy and Victoire._

_Loves,_

_Dawn_

_*****BWST*****_

_Lily,_

_Hey, how are you? How was Victoire and Teddy's wedding? Give them my best wishes, okay? Wow, all three of those sentences were questions. And another one, what's new with you besides the wedding? Not too much is up with me. My mum's family just left; no more headscarf! And junk food here I come. Now I have a week of downtime and then we're going to spend a weekend down at my uncle's farm. I haven't been there for three years, I hope I remember how to ride horses; my cousin Tam will make fun of me without mercy if I fall off._

_I'm going to stop rambling now. Tell me how you're doing._

_-Marica_

_*****BWST*****_

_Dawn,_

_Your letters are as disorganized as your room! The family's doing well and the wedding was great. I had a lot of fun and no one flipped out, not even Aunt Fleur. I'm not going to try and describe what everyone looked like, but here are a few pictures so you can see for yourself. The cake was good, but I think it was better to look at than it was to eat. Not that it tasted bad, it was just really fancy and decorated. Again, here's a picture so you can see what I'm talking about._

_You babysitting? Oh those poor kids..._

_-Lily_

_*****BWST*****_

_Marica,_

_Hi yourself. Don't worry about all the questions, I'll try to answer them. I'm doing well, and so is everyone else. The wedding went really well, all of the months of planning paid off._

_Don't eat too much junk food, then again, you can work it all off at the farm. It's so cool that your uncle has one. I wish I could ride horses, only I'm kind of scared of them; they're so big!_

_Here are some pictures from the wedding by the way._

_-Lily_

_*****BWST*****_

_Dear Lily,_

_You looked so beautiful! You all looked beautiful. It looks like it was a great celebration._

_I would love to be your bridesmaid when you get married; I'll hold you to that promise. _

_I am in France now. I come here every year so it's not as new and exciting as it could be, but of course I enjoy it. How could I not? And we know all the best places to go, not just the tourist traps. Have you ever had escargot? Scorpius thinks the whole idea is gross, but it's actually really delicious. You should ask your aunt about it if you don't know what it is._

_I'll definitely take pictures. I have been already. I'm sending you some of them with this letter._

_Your friend,_

_Cassiopeia_

_*****BWST*****_

_Cassiopeia,_

_Hey, it's Dawn. I just wanted to say hi. I hope your summer's going super-duper great! Mine is, even if it is all Muggle stuff. Aren't you going to France or something? I wish I could go to France! They have the best pastries!_

_See you at school!_

_-Dawn_

_*****BWST*****_

_Cassiopeia,_

_I just wanted to say hi and see how your summer's going. My summer's been pretty good so far. I'm having fun riding horses at my uncle's farm. Are you in France right now? That must be fun, and really interesting too._

_-Marica_

_*****BWST*****_

_Dear Cassie,_

_You look like you're having so much fun. France would be a pretty great place to visit, especially since I already know the language. Haha. And without tourist traps is definitely the best way to go._

_I've never had escargot, but I know that it's snails. I'm a little skeptical, but I would like to try it; I certainly can't say I don't like it until I try it. Albus does that all the time and it annoys me to no end._

_I'm glad you liked the pictures I sent you. Maybe I'll see you in Diagon Alley. I'm going the last few days before school. If not I'll see you on the train._

_Bye for now,_

_-Lily_

_Dear Dawn,_

_Thank you for your letter. It was very...you. Teehee. I'm glad you're having a good time this summer. I have been having a "super-duper" summer. I am in France, we leave to go back to England in two days. I'll make sure to eat (another) pastry for you before then. I'll see you soon._

_-Cassiopeia Malfoy_

_*****BWST*****_

_Dear Marica,_

_You ride horses? Wow, I don't think I could ever do that. They're so big. Yes, I am in France and it's very interesting, though, of course, I've been every summer since before I can remember. We come home to England tomorrow. I'll see you soon._

_-Cassiopeia Malfoy_

_*****BWST*****_

_Lily,_

_I'll definitely see you in Diagon Alley, I can't wait. I know it seems kind of silly, but I'm looking forward to school starting again, I like Hogwarts. I did have a great summer though, pretty low-key for the most part, but that's okay with me._

_Until I see you in Diagon Alley,_

_Your friend,_

_Cassiopeia_

**AN: Yay letters. I like letters, sorry if you don't. I hope you liked the wedding. It's not all that important to the plot but it was fun to describe. Oh yeah, and the beginning with Lily and Cassie. Dynamics are slowly changing? Between Cassie and the other girls too. Now they're all friends :) How about Lily's promise to make Cassie her bridesmaid in the future? Thinks it's gonna happen...? Hehe. So...you know you want to review, right? Thanks.**

**-SQ**


	18. Chapter 18: Introductions

**Author's Note: I hope you like the chapter. When I finally got to writing it I was excited to finally be in Lily's 5****th**** year! You'll see the things I was excited about soon enough ;)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I own many things, Harry Potter is not one of them.**

**Chapter Eighteen: Introductions**

Lily, Dawn, and Marica walked down Diagon Alley toward Flourish and Blotts, where they had agreed to meet Cassiopeia. Thanks to Dawn, who had gotten side-tracked at Quality Quidditch Supplies looking at the latest in top-of-the-line broom care, they were running late. Panting slightly, they jogged through the door of the bookshop and cast around for Cassiopeia, she had said she would be waiting right in the front, but, though the shop was full of Hogwarts students, Lily didn't see her friend.

"Where—"

"Lily! Dawn! Marica!"

Lily turned around and saw an extremely pretty, petite teenager with gleaming white-blond hair streaming down her back.

"Over here," said the girl, flashing a sparkling smile and lifting her small, slim-fingered hand in an elegant wave.

Lily's eyes widened; it was Cassiopeia. The blond glided over to them. Though still petite, she had grown several inches over the summer, and the top of her head now came up to Lily's chin. Lithe and pixie-like, she no longer looked like little kid; the slight curves visible at her hips and chest certainly hadn't been there the last time Lily had seen her. With her pale golden hair and ivory skin she looked more like a fairy than ever. Wow.

Cassiopeia looked at Lily curiously. "Lily? Earth to Lily."

"Hi, Cassie," said Lily, wondering why she had never noticed just how clear and piercing Cassiopeia's eyes were; she didn't think she'd ever seen anyone else with eyes quite that shade of blue. "It's good to see you."

Cassiopeia laughed her bell-like laugh. Had it gotten clearer over the summer? And hugged Lily, Dawn, and Marica in turn.

"Nice badge," she said, pointing to the prefect badge pinned to Marica's chest. Marica beamed proudly.

"Thanks."

"We all knew it would be Marica," said Dawn.

"Not necessarily!" protested Marica.

"Sure..."

"Do you have your books already, Cassie?" asked Lily.

Cassiopeia nodded.

"We still have to get ours," said Dawn.

Cassiopeia looked toward the door to the bookshop and then at her three friends and their nearly empty bags, cocking her eyebrows and mouth into a crooked smile.

Lily laughed. "Yes, well, that is kind of obvious, isn't it?"

*****BWST*****

The four girls left the shop after buying their textbooks, Lily arm in arm with Cassiopeia and Dawn arm and arm with Marica.

"Is there anything else we need to get?" said Marica, double-checking her list.

Cassiopeia shook her head. "No, I have everything."

"I think we do too," said Marica, folding the list back up.

"I'll trust you on that one," said Dawn.

The other three laughed.

"I swear, Dawn," said Lily. "You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders."

Dawn stuck out her tongue at her.

"Beau jour, my lovely mademoiselles," said a voice. Arms draped around their shoulders from behind. "How are you four this fine afternoon?"

"Louis!" The girls turned around and hugged the older boy.

He hugged them back and then pulled back and looked them over. "Whew!" he whistled. "Cassie, you grew up."

She grinned shyly, blushing faintly.

He turned his gaze to Dawn and Marica. "Dawn, if you don't stop growing you're going to be as tall as me," he said disapprovingly. She just smirked. "Marica, of course, hasn't changed a bit. Unless it is to become even more charming than ever. He bowed over her hand; she laughed and smacked his shoulder. "Fool."

Louis shrugged. "That you knew already."

"And what about me?" asked Lily in mock indignation.

Louis grabbed her and gave her a tight hug. "I haven't forgotten you, my silly cousin," he said, ruffling her hair fondly. "Trés belle, all of you."

Lily squirmed away as Cassiopeia giggled. "Alright, alright! Point proven!" Lily shoved her cousin playfully. "What should we do now?"

"Fortescue's," said Louis, taking the lead. "My treat."

*****BWST*****

The five of them were sitting outside the ice cream parlor, licking their towering waffle cones, when Clark Fleet and another boy Lily and Cassiopeia didn't recognize came up to them.

"Hi," said Clark. "Mind if we join you?"

"Not at all," said Marica brightly, scooting over on the bench to make room for the two boys.

"This is my friend Zakai," said Clark, indicating his companion.

Zakai, a tall, olive-skinned boy with longish, wavy black hair waved to them. "It is nice to be meeting with you," he said, his voice colored with a thick foreign accent.

"Zakai is an exchange student from Greece. He's living with me for the year."

"Hello," said Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica.

"Hi..." said Dawn breathlessly.

Cassiopeia looked between her friend and the exchange student and had to suppress a laugh. Dawn was practically drooling.

"This is Marica," said Clark, putting his hand on her elbow. "And these are her friends."

"Lily," said Lily. "Lily Potter."

Zakai's eyebrows raised a fraction in recognition of her last name. "Potter? I am feeling honored."

"Don't be," said Lily. "I'm not my parents." She changed the subject. "This is Cassiopeia Malfoy."

Zakai inclined his head to the younger girl, who nodded back, eyes on her feet. Though she was comfortable with her friends, she was still painfully shy around strangers, especially older ones.

Marica elbowed Dawn in the ribs.

"Er—hi," said Dawn again. "I—I'm Dawn. Dawn Hartly."

"I am very pleez-ed to be meeting with you, Dawn Hartly," said Zakai. Dawn practically swooned.

"And I'm Louis, Louis Weasley," said Louis with a flourish.

"What have you been up to this summer?" Clark asked Marica.

"Oh, not too much," she said, shrugging. "I went up to my cousin's farm for a weekend and my mother's family visited. Nothing terribly exciting."

"Oh, I'm sure you found some way to make it exciting," said Clark, looking at her. Marica blushed as his fingers seemingly innocently brushed against her shoulder.

Louis stood up. "I've got to go, I promised to meet some friends over by Madame Malkin's."

"Thanks for the ice cream, Louis," the girls called as he walked away.

Zakai took Louis's vacated seat between Dawn and Marica.

"Dawn Harty," he said, "Forgive of me if to be questioning this is to being rude, but do many persons here in the England have hairs of this color?" He picked up a lock of her blond hair in his long fingers.

"I—I—er—" stammered Dawn. "S-some people."

"No persons in my country has this hairs," said Zakai. "To me it is to being very beautiful. Like gold which has being wove to hair. Oh, I am fearing that is not to sounding as right as I intended for it. My English is being not so well."

"Oh no," said Dawn hurriedly. "Your English is lovely."

"It is an untrue, but I am thanking to you every the same."

"All the same," said Clark absently.

Watching Dawn and Zakai and Marica and Clark, Lily and Cassiopeia felt just a little bit left out.

Cassiopeia looked at the four and then at Lily, her expression twitched. _I don't think our friends are going to be single for much longer._

Lily shook her head in agreement. _No, somehow I don't think they are._

*****BWST*****

The next day the four friends met up again on platform 9 ¾ to board the Hogwarts Express. James and Dominique had graduated last year, but Lily, Albus, Louis, Rose, and Hugo were now joined by Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. The two boys were now eleven and starting their first year at Hogwarts, and they were very excited.

"We're going to Hogwarts! We're going to Hogwarts!" they squealed, running in circles around the platform, seemingly completely unconcerned with the fact that everyone was staring at them.

"Yes you are," said their mother, trying half-heartedly to calm them down. "Don't forget your trunks."

"We won't," said the twins in unison, and promptly ran off without them.

"Lorcan, Lysander, your trunks!" called their father.

"Awww," said Cassiopeia, watching them. "They're adorable."

"You were adorable too at that age," said Lily.

"And I'm not now?" said Cassiopeia, her coral-pink lips pouting prettily.

"Of course you are," said Lily, tugging on her friend's braid and putting an arm around her shoulders. Cassiopeia looped her own arm around Lily's waist.

"Let's find Dawn and Marica, I think they already have a compartment."

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia opted not to sit in the compartment where Rose and Scorpius were currently making out ("Not something I really needed to see," said Cassiopeia as Lily backed out of the room behind her, looking vaguely sick) or the one in which Lorcan and Lysander were explaining what wrackspurts were to a group of fellow first years. They finally located Dawn and Marica near the back of the train. In addition to their two friends, the compartment was occupied by Clark Fleet and the Greek exchange student Zakai. All four of them looked up when Lily and Cassiopeia came in.

"Hey, girls, come to join the party?" said Marica, who was sitting very close beside Clark on one of the seats. His hand was resting on her knee. Dawn was sitting beside Zakai. They weren't touching, but the way Dawn was gazing at him was indicative in of itself.

Lily and Cassiopeia sat down next to each other across from the other four, smiling knowingly at each other.

"Want a game of chess, Lily?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Sure."

Marica and Clark stood up.

"We have a prefect meeting to go to," said Marica.

"I'm one of the Hufflepuff prefects," Clark explained.

"We'll be back as soon as it's over," said Marica.

"Who're Head Boy and Girl this year?" asked Dawn.

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica looked at her.

"Do you really have to ask?" said Marica.

"Yes, who?"

"Rose and Scorpius," said Lily and Cassiopeia together.

"Oh, I guess that was kind of obvious, huh?"

"Just a bit," agreed Lily.

*****BWST*****

Marica and Clark came back about an hour later.

"So, who're all the new prefects? Spill," said Lily.

"It's not like it's juicy gossip," said Marica, laughing.

"Good, I don't go for gossip. Now who are they?"

"Well, for Gryffindor there's me obviously, and then Boris Hunter. Clark of course for Hufflepuff, and Adriana MacMillan. Hugo of course is pleased as punch to be made a prefect for Slytherin, and his partner's that Higgs girl.

"The one with the funny name?" asked Dawn.

"Yes..." said Marica disapprovingly. "Chrisanthalene. And then Ravenclaw has the twins, Lisa and Isaac Chambers."

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Dawn nodded. It was pretty much what they had expected, though they didn't really know the students from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw too well.

"River was there of course," said Marica. "He said to say hi and that he'll be by later."

"Okay," said Lily, feeling both happy to be seeing her friend again and slightly apprehensive about what he would have to say to her. She was quite ready to put the whole thing from last year behind her, but was he?

Cassiopeia patted her arm. _Relax, qu__é__ ser__á__ ser__á__._

*****BWST*****

"Hey," Lily looked up from the chocolate frog cards she and Cassiopeia had been pouring over.

"Oh, hi River."

The handsome boy grinned. "Is there room for two more?"

"Of course, said Lily, moving closer to Cassiopeia to make room on the bench.

River entered, accompanied by a thin, graceful girl whom Lily vaguely recognized as being a Ravenclaw sixth year, but whose name she couldn't' remember.

"This is Rebeca Boot," said River, a hand on the small of the girl's back. "My girlfriend."

Lily raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled at Rebeca Boot. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," said Rebeca Boot.

River slid into the seat beside Lily. "Thanks for turning me down," he whispered in her ear.

Lily laughed. "Anytime."

"Rebeca," he said, "this is my friend Lily, and her friends Dawn and Marica." He looked at each of them in turn. His eyes widened in surprise and appreciation when they fell on Cassiopeia. "And this is Cassiopeia Malfoy." His voice was lacking the resentful animosity it used to carry whenever he talked about Cassiopeia. "I'm afraid I don't know their friends here."

"This is Clark," said Marica.

"And Zakai," added Dawn. "He's from Greece."

River looked Zakai up and down. "Going to give me a run for my money in the tall dark and handsome department?"

"I am appreciating of the compliment," said Zakai. "But I believe I am not being threatening to you. Your girlfriend is seeming to be not of my type, not meaning any offense. I am preferring of the blond hairs girls."

He looked at Dawn, who blushed and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"Gentleman Prefer Blondes," said Dawn, sounding embarrassed. "It's a musical."

"A musical" said Zakai. "Theatre? I am much loving of the theatre."

"Really?" said Dawn, "Me too! Only no one here at Hogwarts really knows about it."

"Can you to be speaking less fastly, please?" said Zakai. "My understanding of English is being less than I am liking."

"Oh, of course," said Dawn. "Sorry, I tend to talk really fast sometimes." Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica snorted. Dawn ignored them. "I love theatre, and songs from musicals, but most people at Hogwarts don't know what I'm talking about," she said at a much more reasonable speed.

"Well, I am knowing something of what you are talking about. I also am liking of songs of the theatre."

*****BWST*****

At the end of the train ride the eight occupants of the compartment got out. River and Rebeca went off to join some of Rebeca's friends, while Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Zakai, Marica, and Clark made their way to a carriage. Then they encountered a problem.

"There isn't room enough for six of us in here," said Marica, looking at the inside of the carriage.

"You're right," said Lily, peering in too, "we're just bigger than we used to be."

"There's no way we're all going to fit," agreed Clark. "Zakai and I can find another carriage, it's fine."

"No," said Lily and Cassiopeia at the same time, seeing the disappointed looks on their friend's faces.

"Cassie and I will find another carriage," said Lily.

"Are you sure?" said Marica.

"Of course. We'll meet you in the Great Hall."

Lily and Cassiopeia walked around in search of a carriage with two available seats. They finally found one in which two seventh year Slytherins were sitting.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" asked Lily a bit hesitantly. While Slytherins and Gryffindors were on better terms than they had been while her parents were at school, they still weren't generally buddy-buddy by any stretch of the imagination.

The shorter of the two girls, who had dark chocolate colored skin and thick hair dyed henna red, shrugged. The other girl, a tanned, artificial blond with a body like a super model, followed the first girl's lead and made space for them in the carriage.

After a moment, once the wheels had begun to roll, the dark-skinned girl broke the silence. "You're Potter, right?" she said to Lily. Her voice reminded Lily of warm molasses. "And you're Malfoy," she added to Cassiopeia.

Both girls nodded.

"I'm Hepsibah Vaisey," said the girl. "And this is Tamie Harper. We know your brothers."

"I dated yours," Tammie Harper added to Cassiopeia.

Lily glanced at Cassiopeia. _I don't doubt it._

_More have than haven't, I think_, she agreed.

Lily shifted her gaze back to Hepzibah Vaisey. She wasn't pretty, not in a normal way, but her skin, several shades darker than Marica's, hennaed hair, and slightly stocky build were enthralling; Lily found she couldn't take her eyes off her.

The two Slytherins said very little, either to each other or to Lily and Cassiopeia, during the rest of the trip. When the carriage pulled up in front of the school, they got out first and then stepped aside to give the Gryffindors room to descend.

"It was nice meeting you," said Lily quickly, as they turned to leave. Vaisey and Harper turned back around.

"You too," said Harper.

"See you around?" said Lily, looking at Vaisey. Though she didn't intend it to, it came out sounding like a question.

Vaisey extended a thick-fingered hand. She wore rings on several of her fingers. Lily took it, her own fingers tingling. "See you around," agreed Vaisey.

Lily watched the two older girls walk away until Cassiopeia tapped her on the shoulder.

"Lily, let's go inside. I'm sure Dawn and Marica are there already."

"Oh—yes," said Lily. "Yes, I should think they are."

**AN: I know this chapter was shorter than most, but it simply wanted to end here, so I listened. Hope you'll review if you have anything at all to say :)**

**-SQ**


	19. Chapter 19: The First Slumber Party

**Author's Note: Things are starting to get more interesting here, though there is also a bunch of starting the new year stuff. I hope you like the chapter.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: As you might have guessed, since you've seen them all before, none of the canon characters or things are mine. As you might have also guessed, since you haven't seen them before, all of the OCs and the plot are.**

**Chapter Nineteen: The First Slumber Party**

"Cassie," said Lily, leaning over her bowl of oatmeal toward her friend the next morning at breakfast, "I forgot to ask you what new subjects you're starting this year. Let me see your schedule."

Cassiopeia handed over her schedule obligingly, saying, "Lily, your hair is getting in your oatmeal."

"Drat," said Lily, whisking her hair back over her shoulder and out of danger. She looked down at Cassiopeia's schedule.

"Muggle Studies?" said Lily, raising her eyebrows.

Cassiopeia nodded. "What about it?"

"Well," said Marica, "it's just that you're a Malfoy..."

"So?" said Cassiopeia defiantly. "Maybe it's time to branch out. I won't be competing with Scorpius anyway."

The other three laughed.

Lily turned back to the schedule. "Arithmancy, ah, that class is difficult."

"You seem to like it," said Cassiopeia.

"And Ancient Runes, yes of course, another language. No Care of Magical Creatures?"

"It's not that I don't like Hagrid," said Cassiopeia, "Care of Magical Creatures just isn't my thing."

Lily nodded. She could understand that, Care of Magical Creatures was a very social class and Cassiopeia was not generally a very social person.

Marica stood up. "We'd better get to class."

"Aw, come on Marica, we have ages," said Dawn, who was still munching on a (fourth) piece of toast.

"But I'm a prefect now, I have to set a good example."

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Dawn rolled their eyes at each other but pushed themselves up from the table all the same.

"We'll see you at lunch, Cassie," said Lily, giving her friend a quick half-hug.

"See you," said Cassiopeia, and headed off in the direction of her first class, History of Magic.

*****BWST*****

"I forgot how tiring school can be," said Lily, falling into a chair by the fire. Cassiopeia was already curled up, cat-like, in her usual armchair next to her.

"I swear it's worse this year," said Dawn.

"Of course it is," said Marica. "It's O.W.L. year."

"Welcome to Hell."

Lily and Cassiopeia looked up and saw Louis behind them. They both stuck their tongues out at him simultaneously.

"Two peas in a pod, you two," said Louis.

"No they're not," argued Marica. "Lily and Cassie are nothing alike."

"That's true," conceded Louis. "But in some ways they are."

Lily and Cassiopeia grinned at each other and threw their arms around each other's shoulders.

Dawn snorted. "Opposites attract, I guess."

*****BWST*****

Lily and River weren't the only ones who had noticed how Cassiopeia had changed over the summer. The formerly inconspicuous, shade-like girl was now turning heads in the corridors, not overly many, but enough to make her uncomfortable with the additional attention.

"Lily, why are they looking at me?" she whispered to her friend as they made their way to lunch on Saturday afternoon.

"'Cause you're pretty," said Lily. Pretty wasn't really an adequate word to describe Cassiopeia, but Lily was distracted just then by the people she saw coming toward her down the hall.

"Hi," she said, eagerly, smiling at Hepzibah Vaisey.

Vaisey and her friend Tamie Harper looked at her.

"Oh, hi," they said.

"How're you?" asked Lily.

"Fine," said Vaisey nonchalantly.

"How was your first week back at school?"

"Fine."

"That's good."

Lily and Cassiopeia walked with Vaisey and Harper until they split off to their separate tables.

"See you later," said Lily, waving.

Vaisey and Harper nodded.

"Who're they?" asked Dawn as Lily and Cassiopeia slid into their seats at the Gryffindor table.

"Hepzibah Vaisey and..."

"Tamie Harper," supplied Cassiopeia.

"Yeah."

"Why were you talking to them?" asked Marica.

"We're friends...kind of," said Lily.

"Harper's the seventh year Slytherin prefect," said Marica.

"Oh," said Lily. She wasn't really all that interested in Harper.

"How can you be kind of friends with someone?" asked Dawn.

"Well, Cassie and I were kind of friends for a while."

"You gonna become inseparable from Vaisey and Harper too?" said Marica teasingly.

"How can she?" said Cassiopeia reasonably. "Vasiey and Harper are in Slytherin."

Lily looked just a bit put out.

*****BWST*****

"Marica, hey, Marica, wait up!" Clark Fleet came panting up behind them, accompanied by Zakai. "Hi."

"Hi," said Marica, a silly, un-Marica-like grin appearing on her face. "What's up?"

"I was wondering..." he looked at his feet. "That is...we've been writing all summer and everything. And I just thought...maybe...if you..."

"Wanted to make it official?" said Marica with a laugh. "I'd love to."

Clark looked up, a matching grin on his face. "Great. I guess I'll see you at the Wizard's Chess Club meeting tonight?"

"Of course, I'm Secretary!"

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then Marica leaned in and pecked Clark on the cheek. "See you tonight."

"Oooooh!" said her friends as soon as he walked away.

Marica looked unperturbed. "You're just jealous because I have a boyfriend and you don't."

Lily and Cassiopeia looked at each other and shook their heads, but Dawn, eyes on Zakai's retreating back, looked like she thought Marica might have a point.

*****BWST*****

"Lily, come on, we're going to be late," Marica called up the stairs.

"Just a minute," said Lily, yanking the comb through her hair yet again. How could there still be tangles? "Just let me finish with my hair."

Finally she put down the comb and ran down the stairs. Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica were waiting down at the foot of the steps.

"What took you so long?" asked Dawn.

"My stupid hair," said Lily irritably. "It takes forever to comb." She glanced at Cassiopeia's waist-length locks. "How do you do it?"

"I get up early anyway," said Cassiopeia. "I use the time to comb it out."

Lily wrinkled her nose at the idea of getting up earlier to comb her hair. Cassiopeia giggled.

"Come on," said Marica. "Let's go. Remember the whole not being late thing? I'd hate to have to give us all detentions."

*****BWST*****

"How are you liking your new classes?" Marica asked Cassiopeia one evening in the common room.

"Oh, they're great," said Cassiopeia. "They're hard, of course, but I like the challenge."

Lily laughed. "You sound like Rose."

"Oh, and you don't like the challenge?" said Cassiopeia.

"I never said that."

Lily put aside her completely Herbology homework and pulled her Arithmancy book toward her, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder.

"Why do you keep it tied back all the time?" said Cassiopeia, fingering Lily's red strands.

"It's easier," said Lily. "It gets in the way when it's down."

"But it's lovely when it's down." Cassiopeia slid the tie out of Lily's hair and ran her fingers through it.

"You braid yours," Lily pointed out

"True," said Cassiopeia. "But not _all_ the time."

Lily shrugged. Really, she didn't care too much what her hair looked like. This wasn't the first time she had been complemented on it, but she didn't know what the big deal was. Sure, she didn't want to look bad, but comfort came before fashion in her opinion.

*****BWST*****

"You know what we should have tonight?" said Lily.

It was a Friday evening a month into the new school year, and all of them were already tired of homework.

"What?" said Dawn. Cassiopeia and Marica looked up curiously too.

"A slumber party," said Lily. "Our whole dormitory plus Cassiopeia and Rose and I guess whoever else if we want to invite them."

"That sounds great," said Marica.

"Definitely," said Dawn. "We need some girl time."

"What about you, Cassie, are you up for it?"

"What's a slumber party?"

The three fifth years looked at her in shock.

"You've never had a slumber party?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "The only parties I've been to are my mother's balls and those parties you and Louis threw last year. No friends, remember?"

"This won't do at all," said Lily. "Every girl needs to have slumber parties."

The other two nodded.

"A slumber party," said Marica, "is when a bunch of girls get together in their pajamas and eat junk food and talk and listen to music and tell stories and do each other's' hair and make-up and nails."

"Where does the slumber come in?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Not very much," said Lily with a laugh.

"Sounds like fun," said Cassiopeia.

"You bet it is," said Dawn "I've got candy of course, and Marica, you've got hair stuff, right?

"Yeah," said Marica. "And Brandi and Paloma have music, Tamzen has make-up and nail-polish..."

"Rose gives great back massages," said Lily.

"Oooh," said Dawn, "I can't wait!"

"Can you even hold still for long enough to get a massage?" said Marica.

"Yes!" said Dawn indignantly.

."What about all the other snacks though?" said Marica. "Popcorn and crisps and stuff."

Lily and Cassiopeia looked at each other.

"Don't worry," said Lily, "we've got it covered."

*****BWST*****

"Hey, Hepzibah, wait up!" Lily jogged over to the other girl. "I was just wondering if you're doing anything tonight. 'Cause my dormitory's having a slumber party and if you wanted to you could come."

"Sorry, Lily," said Hepzibah. Lily found herself suppressing a little shiver at the way her name sounded when the older girl said it. "I'm busy tonight. Maybe some other time, okay?"

"Oh, sure, no problem," said Lily, trying to hide her disappointment.

Cassiopeia patted her arm as they walked away. "It's alright. We'll have a great time anyway."

Lily smiled and habitually fingered her silver bracelet. Cassiopeia could always make her feel better. Her good mood was infectious.

"Yeah…"

"Of course we will," said Cassiopeia, steering Lily toward the stairway that led to the kitchens. "Let's get on those snacks, shall we?"

*****BWST*****

"Snack delivery!" called Lily as she and Cassiopeia came into the fifth year Griffindor girls' dorm. Dawn, Marica, Brandi, Paloma, and Tamzen were already there.

"What kind of music do we want?" asked Brandi. "More hip-hop or something softer?"

"Let's start with the hip-hop," said Lily.

Brandi pressed a button on her music player and heavy beats filled the room.

Cassiopeia cocked her head in interest. "I've never heard music like this before," she said. "It's...intriguing."

"It's my favorite," said Brandi.

"What should we do first?" said Dawn, reaching over and grabbing a handful of crisps.

"I'll do someone's hair," said Marica.

"And I can start on nails," added Tamzen.

"Who wants their make-up done?" asked Paloma.

Five minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

"Rose! I had started to think you weren't coming," said Lily.

"You think I'd miss a slumber party?" said Rose.

"Thought maybe you were 'too old' for them," said Lily.

"Too old for slumber parties?" said Rose. "Never!"

"Or you just couldn't pull yourself away from Scorpius," said Dawn slyly.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm not with him _all_ the time."

"True, just 99.9%," said Dawn.

Rose threw a pillow at her.

"Pillow fight!"

When the pillow fight had exhausted itself and the girls had settled down again, Lily called dibs on Rose's first massage, Marica started on Dawn's hair, Cassiopeia, at Lily's urging, agreed to have Paloma do her make-up, and Tamzen and Brandi stared an impromptu karaoke session.

*****BWST*****

"This is really fun," Cassiopeia said a several hours later.

Everyone now had shiny, painted nails and made-up faces. Bradi was currently enjoying Rose's massaging talents, the music had been changed to Paloma's softer music, and the rest of the girls where sprawled out on the various beds or the floor.

"No one's done your hair yet, Cassie," Lily remarked, leaning over the side of the bed. "Marica, toss me that brush. She began to run the brush through Cassiopeia's corn-silk hair, it was the softest hair she had ever felt, like watered silk. "Any preference on how I do it?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "Just make it look nice."

"Of course! No, I'll make it look hideous," Lily joked.

For a while Lily just brushed out Cassiopeia's long hair, indecisive about what to do with it, eventually, without really thinking about it, she began to braid it into many little braids, tying the ends off with bits of ribbon and beads.

Thought it was long, Cassiopeia's hair was very thin and fine, so it took less time than it might have to complete the braiding. When she was done she held the mirror for her friend. "You like it?"

"Oooh, yes, very much," said Cassie. "Here, let me do yours."

*****BWST*****

The eight girls finally fell asleep around three in the morning. Brandi and Paloma ended up half-on half-off Brandi's bed, where they had been monitoring the music, which played on after everyone was asleep. Tamzen, Dawn, and Marica were all in various positions on their own beds, and Rose had taken over Paloma's. Lily and Cassiopeia had both fallen asleep on Lily's bed, heads touching on the pillow while their feet hung off opposite sides of the bed.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia, as she had expected, was the first slumber-partier to wake up on Saturday morning. Gently and silently sliding off the bed, so as not to wake any of the other girls, she tiptoed over to the window and looked out. Judging from the position of the sun, it was around nine in the morning. Later than Cassiopeia usually slept. Then again, she didn't usually stay up until three either.

She looked back at the rest of the sleeping girls and smiled. How had she gone from having no friends to having so many? And all older than her.

She swung her head gently, enjoying the feel of the braids swaying around her face. Maybe she should consider doing her hair like this again sometime.

She liked the way Paloma had done her make-up too. She hardly ever wore make-up, but this was nice; subtle and classy but not understated. Of course, sleeping on it had smudged it a bit, but not too badly. Her nails looked nice too. All in all it had been one of the better nights of her life. Possibly the first night where Scorpius was not present to make that list.

"Hey, Cassie, you're up."

Cassiopeia turned around. Lily was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Marica and Paloma also showed signs of stirring.

Cassiopeia nodded. "I'm always up early."

"I know," said Lily. "What did you think of your first slumber party?"

Cassiopeia grinned. "It was great."

"We should do that more often," said Marica sleepily.

"Mmmhmm," agreed Paloma without opening her eyes.

Rose rolled over. "Is it time to get up already?"

"Well," said Lily, checking her watch, "it is nearly eleven."

"Dawn'll sleep through anything, and Brandi'll bite your head off if you try to wake her," said Tamzen, sliding out of her bed. "Let's go down to lunch, it'll probably be nearly ready by the time we all get down there, and I'm starving."

"I'm surprised Dawn isn't up just for the food," said Marica.

The others laughed.

"Her loss," said Lily with a shrug.

Cassiopeia smirked.

*****BWST*****

Everyone in Hogwarts Castle had noticed a distinct nip in the air with the coming of October. Outside on the grounds it was still sunny, but it was no longer advisable to leave the castle without a coat. The new Gryffindor Quidditch captain, seventh year Trenton Wood, had held tryouts at the beginning of the month to replace James and Analise, and as soon as they were over Quidditch practices had begun again, occupying Dawn most weekday evenings.

"How's the team doing without James?" Cassiopeia casually asked Dawn when she came in, windblown and grinning, from practice.

"We're holding together. We miss James of course, but Trenton's a good captain."

Cassiopeia nodded sagely. "You'd better be more than good if you don't want the Potter Quidditch dynasty to continue."

Albus, as Slytherin Quidditch Captain, was very keen on finally bringing his team to the top now that James had left the school.

"Hmph," said Dawn. "We'll show them."

"That's the spirit!" said Trenton Wood," coming through the portrait hole. "No one bests a Gryffindor!"

*****BWST*****

The weekend before Halloween was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and Cassiopeia's first Hogsmeade weekend ever.

"I'm so glad you can finally come," said Lily excitedly as she finished tying back her hair and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Me too," said Cassiopeia, who had been ready for over an hour.

"We're meeting Clark and Zakai in the entrance hall," said Marica when Lily and Cassiopeia came downstairs. "Where's Dawn? We're going to be late."

"I'm coming!" came Dawn's voice from the top of the staircase. There was a crash, and a thunder of footsteps, and then Dawn appeared. "How do I look?"

Dawn's dark blond hair, usually flying every which way, had been grappled into two braids that were tied at the ends with pink ribbons. She wore the pink bubble-skirt she had bought last year. She had outgrown the matching jacket, and the skirt itself was a couple inches shorter than it had been. Underneath it she wore thick, cream-colored tights the same color as her sweater. On her feet were chunky pink heels and her face was made-up in pink and cream to match, complete with an abundance of glitter

"What's the occasion?" asked Lily.

"Oh, no occasion," said Dawn, coloring slightly. "I just wanted to look nice."

Cassiopeia raised her elegant eyebrows at Lily. _Zakai._

_Definitely._

Marica was also looking nice. She had on a green plaid skirt and a black turtle-neck, her hair held back with jeweled pins. She had even dabbed on some lip-gloss and eyeshadow.

The four friends were joined by Rose as they headed out of the portrait hole. Looking at her in her v-necked red sweater, tight-fitting blue-jeans, rhinestone jewelry, and thick lipstick and eyeliner, Lily and Cassiopeia got the distinct impression that they were the only ones who had not dressed up for the day. Since when had a Hogsmeade visit become such a special occasion?

_Since everyone started getting crushes and boyfriends._

As Marica had said, they met Clark and Zakai in the entrance hall. Even the boys looked nice, their shirts tucked in and wrinkle-free. Rose waved them goodbye and went to join Scorpius, who looked just a bit too smug as he took in her outfit and gave her a hello kiss.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia was fascinated by Hogsmeade. She didn't really get out much, and when she did she was always accompanied by an over-protective parent or older brother. Of course, she hadn't minded or really noticed that they were overprotective until she experienced what it was like being without that. Marica and Clark walked a little ways ahead, hand in hand, while the other four followed just behind, Lily pointing everything out to Cassiopeia.

They visited Zonko's and Honeyduke's and the post office before deciding that it was time for lunch and making their way to the Three Broomsticks.

"You are buying much candies, Dawn," said Zakai, eying her bulging sacks of sweets. His English had already begun to improve slightly since school had started.

"I like candies," she said. "You want some?"

"Oh, not at this time, I thank you," said Zakai. "I am not wanting to be filled before I am to be eating my lunch."

"That's a foreign concept to Dawn," said Lily as Dawn shrugged and bit into an ice mouse. It squeaked, causing Zakai to jump.

"Tell me more about yourself, Zakai," said Dawn, leaning toward him over the table.

"Well, I am growing up in a very small island that being off the coast of Greece. It is being all for magical people, Muggles are not known of it, and is a place for boats to be coming that are having magical loads. The reason for my English being so funny is that I am not learning English in a normal way, sitting in a school or from being taught by a teacher. I am learning it from the many wizards who are to be coming to my island on their boats, and not all of them are being from a countries that is speaking English for the language first. Also I am trying to be learning from reading books, but books being wrote in English are being hard to be finding where I am living. I am coming here to Hogwarts to be bettering my speaking of English and my knowing of the world more than in my home."

"Your name, Zakai," said Cassiopeia quietly. "That isn't Greek, is it?"

"No, Zakai is not being traditional of a Greek name, or that of any other place. My parents are making it special for me. My father is being Greek, my my mother is being from India, and they are not being able to decide if my name is to called Greek or Indian, so they are making up one new. My full name is having an Indian middle and the last name of my Greek father. Zakai Girisha Palamara."

"Wow," said Dawn, her eyes round. "That's so poetic."

"And what is being the full name of Miss Dawn Hartly?" asked Zakai.

"Oh," said Dawn, flushing. "It's—it's not nearly as nice as yours."

"Maybe I can be judging of this," said Zakai.

"Dawn Elizabeth Hartly," mumbled Dawn.

"I am thinking that this is being a beautiful name," said Zakai.

Meanwhile, Marica and Clark were bent over, heads together, whispering. Lily and Cassiopeia didn't doubt that they had shared a few kisses during their conversation, which was sure to be either boring or nonsensical to anyone but each other.

The door to the pub opened and Lily heard a familiar rich voice.

"I'm parched, Tamie, let's sit down a minute and have a butterbeer."

Lily's head snapped around. Hepzibah Vaisey and Tamie Harper had just come through the door and walked over to the bar.

"Damn," said Hepzibah, opening her wallet, "I knew I shouldn't have bought that book. I'm all out of cash."

Don't look at me," said Tamie, "I only have enough money for my own. I spent the rest of what I brought with me on that dress."

"Hi," said Lily, coming up behind the two seventh years. "I don't mean to be evesdropping, but I could lend you some money if you want."

Hepzibah looked down at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Oh yes, of course," said Lily, reaching into her bag. "Here."

"Thanks," said Hepzibah. "Two butterbeers," she added to the bartender as she and Tamie laid their money on the counter.

"If you don't mind my asking," said Lily, who didn't want her conversation with Hepzibah to end this soon after it had begun, "what book was it that you bought?"

"_The Realities and Misconceptions of Muggle Spiritualism,"_ said Hepzibah.

"Wow," said Lily. "Sounds interesting."

"Muggles know more than we give them credit for," said Hepzibah. "At least some of them do. Just because they can't do magic doesn't mean they can't utilize it. For example, a magical plant doesn't stop having magical properties when a Muggle picks it up. And there are a lot of things in some Muggle cultures left over from when wizards and Muggles co-existed, you just have to look for them."

Lily listened, enthralled. What Hepzibah was saying was very interesting; she felt that anything Hepzibah said would be interesting, just because Hepzibah was saying it. The table next to Lily's and her friends' had cleared while Hepzibah and Tamie had been ordering, and Lily was thrilled when the two Slytherins chose to sit there.

Cassiopeia watched Lily watch Vasiey and Harper and wasn't quite sure how she felt. Her friend was paying far more attention to the Slytherins than she was to Cassiopeia, then again, they, especially Hepzibah, with her dyed hair and bold presence, were far more noticeable than Cassiopeia. At the end of the day, they would be going back to the dungeons and Lily and Cassiopeia would be returning to Gryffindor tower. With this thought in mind, Cassiopeia turned her awareness outward and partook in one of her favorite pastimes, unobtrusively observing all of the people around her, who were, as always blissfully unaware of just how much she could learn about them from simple observation. Sometimes it was nice, after all, to be less noticeable.

**AN: And Lily and Cassie are now officially bffs :) Cassie's role has slowly shifted over the last 2 years, huh? Of course, I'm sure most of you know her eventual role, but that's a ways off yet. Hints are there though, hints are definitely there ;) **

**Also, rereading this to do re-edits I noticed how much I based Hepzibah on a girl I know who I rather idolized and had kind of a platonic crush on during high school. They're not exactly alike at all, but they definitely have certain things in common**

**If you liked the chapter, or didn't, or have anything at all to say, the review button is right down there.**

**-SQ**


	20. Chapter 20: This is Halloween

**Author's Note: Rereading this chapter for re-editing purposes I actually really like it. A lot. There are some lines in it that I would say were just brilliant if they were written by somebody else, but they were written by me, so I feel like an egotistical ass saying that.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: *pushes button on prerecorded tape* I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter Twenty: This is Halloween**

Somehow Lily and Cassiopeia weren't all that surprised when they came downstairs on Halloween morning and found the entrance to the Great Hall blocked by two giant green-and-silver pumpkins demanding that students do all manner of ridiculous things to gain entry.

Lily and Cassiopeia rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"For Merlin's sake," said Lily.

"Those brothers of ours," agreed Cassiopeia.

"You'd think now that yours is Head Boy—"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "Like that's going to make any difference."

"It should," grumbled Lily.

"And your point is?"

They watched a second year climb onto the main banister and try and fail to walk up it without falling off.

"Ouch," winced Lily as the girl landed on the marble stairs. "These things are dangerous!"

Dawn and Marica joined them in the quickly filling entrance hall.

"What's going on?" said Dawn, standing on her tiptoes to see over the heads of the students in front of her. "What's the holdup?"

Lily opened her mouth to explain, but just then someone else came along and diverted Dawn's attention.

"Miss Dawn, is it being customary here at Hogwarts for there to be standing two large pumpkins in the colors of silver and green making people to do things which are being very strange before they can be going in to breakfast?"

Dawn and Marica both gave Zakai very confused looks while Lily and Cassiopeia burst out laughing.

"Is something being funny?"

Marica caught on first. "Silver and green, did you say? It must be Albus and Scorpius's Halloween prank."

Zakai still looked confused.

"Albus is Lily's older brother and Scorpius is Cassie's," said Dawn. "They're best friends and love playing jokes on other people. The pumpkins must be their doing."

Lily and Cassiopeia could currently see a third year Hufflepuff standing on his head, his pants exposed to the entire hall. It appeared that the pumpkins would not let him stand upright until he succeeded in saying a very complicated tongue-twister.

"Oh come now," said Lily angrily. "That's just cruel."

Apparently she wasn't the only one who held that sentiment.

"Albus Severus Potter! Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! Hugo Arthur Weasley!"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the newest commotion.

Rose Weasley was striding down the middle of the entrance hall, students quickly moving aside to clear a path for her. Her red hair whirled around her head and her eyes flashed menacingly. She marched right up to the pumpkins, where a first year was currently hopping around quacking like a duck with his robes pulled up over his head.

"Albus Severus Potter! Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! Hugo Arthur Weasley! You will come here _right now_!"

The first year quickly pulled his robes back down and scurried away. The hall was dead silent for a second. Then...

"Scorp, _what are you doing_? Do you have a death wish?"

Scorpius had appeared through a gap in the crowd, followed by a very reluctant looking Albus and a rather scared looked Hugo.

"Er—hi, Rose," said Albus.

Rose glared at her cousin and her brother in turn and then turned her attention to her boyfriend. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," she said, walking up to him and standing on tiptoe so that they were nose-to-nose. "You—are—Head—Boy!" With every word she jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You—are—supposed—to—set—a—good—example—for—the—rest—of—the—school! Not—engage—in—juvenile—pastimes—and—childish—pranks!"

"Rose..." said Scorpius, rubbing his chest where she had poked him. "Love..."

"Don't you 'love' me, Scorpius Malfoy," said Rose. "And don't you think I don't see you trying to sneak away, Albus Potter!" she added.

"Rose," said Scorpius, leaning down and trying to kiss her.

"Uh-oh," said Lily. "That's a mistake..."

_Smack!_

Rose had cracked her hand against Scorpius's cheek. "I'm not one of your fangirls you can charm into submission! Get rid of those!" she pointed at the pumpkins.

Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo, Scorpius with his hand cupping his cheek, waved their wands at the pumpkins, which disappeared.

"And the rest of the Hall," said Rose threateningly.

Lily and Cassiopeia peered into the Great Hall. Sure enough, the entire hall was bedecked in green and silver, and the floor was coated in something which looked suspiciously slippery and slimy. The few people who had managed to get inside were sprawled flat on their backs, scrambling vainly to get up from where they had fallen.

With a wave of Albus's, Scorpius's, and Hugo's wands the Hall was restored to normal.

"I'll be writing to Mum and Aunt Ginny!" said Rose. "Don't think that I won't!" And with that she marched into the Great Hall without a backward glance.

"Rose—" started Scorpius.

Albus laid a hand on his arm. "Leave her, Scor. She'll come around."

Cassiopeia, eyes round and braid flying, took this opportunity to run up to her brother. "Scorp? Scorp, are you alright?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," he assured her, giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head. "You run along now."

Cassiopeia went to join her friends at the Gryffindor table.

"Did Rose just break up with Scorpius?" said Cassiopeia concernedly.

Lily shook her head. "Oh no, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner. Anyone who dates Rose has to resign themselves to a fair number of fights, especially someone like your brother. She got the worst of both Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione where her temper is concerned."

Cassiopeia looked relieved. Whatever Lily thought of her brother, Cassiopeia loved him dearly. And while he might not show his emotions in a way that most people could see then, she knew he'd never been happier than he had been since he'd started dating Rose Weasley.

_*****_BWST*****

That night, after the Halloween Feast (The "best ever" according to Dawn. "You always say that," said Marica), Louis came up to them as they left the Great Hall.

"Halloween Party, tonight at ten, empty classroom in the Charms corridor, pass the word. Let's try and get more guests than Malfoy's party."

Lily grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Will do."

*****BWST*****

At ten 'till ten, Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Rose, Tamzen, Brandi, and Paloma were standing in the fifth year Gryffindor dorm, ready to leave for Louis's party. Rose, who was still resolutely not speaking to Scorpius, had opted to go to Louis's party just to spite her boyfriend.

They were all dressed to kill.

Paloma had on a black-and-orange flare-skirt dress with spider-web earrings and black ankle boots. Her eyes were outlined in black liner and she wore orange shadow and lipstick.

Brandi was dressed in a midriff-showing black peasant top and a white miniskirt printed with black cats. Jack-o-lantern earrings hung from her ears and her eyelids shone with black sparkles. On her feet she wore pointy-toed black flats.

Tamzen wore a black, off-the-shoulder mini-dress with black calf-length boots and ruby earrings and pendant. Her lips were painted blood-red and her eyes were outlined in black to make them resemble a cat's.

Rose had on a blood-red skirt with a slanted hem that started at her knee and ended midway up her thigh. Her shirt was long-sleeved and covered in black sequins. Her flats were blood-red and her lips and eyes were painted gold. There were gold studs in her ears as well.

Lily, who didn't have very many party outfits of her own, had borrowed the clothes she was wearing from Rose: A tight silver, knee-length skirt and black fishnet stockings, a black three-quarter sleeved v-neck sweater that exposed a sliver of her stomach when she moved, black ribbons braided into her hair by Cassiopeia, black two-inch platform boots, and silver kid-gloves. Ruby earrings in her ears and a strategic application of eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, and lipstick completed the look.

Cassiopeia was a contrast to the other girls in a calf-length dress of pure white, belted with a black-and-orange striped cord. He feet were covered by black-and-orange beaded slippers and her necklace featured a gleaming white ghost. Her loose hair had been sprinkled liberally with silver glitter, as had her eyelids, and matching silver lipstick shone on her lips. She had never looked more like the ghost Dawn and Marica had compared her to back in her first year.

"Are you ready girls?" asked Rose, looking around the room. The rest of them nodded. "Alright, then let's go."

The party was just beginning to get into full swing when the eight Griffindors arrived. Louis, wearing a pitch-black tuxedo with an orange shirt and top hat greeted them at the door, bowing over each of their hands in turn.

"Refreshments are that way, the dance floor is over there," he said indicating areas behind him to the right and left.

The room, already much larger than a normal classroom, had been magically expanded to fit the three hundred or so people who were currently dancing, eating, and talking inside. Dawn immediately made for the refreshments table and the rest of them followed.

"Marica." Clark had come up, looking dashing in an orange dress shirt and black slacks. "Want to dance?"

Marica beamed at him. "Of course!"

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Rose stood near the edge of the dance floor, sipping pumpkin juice and watching the couples moving to the beat of the music. Louis danced by, a laughing Ravenclaw fourth year in his arms, his head bent to whisper in her ear.

Boys kept shooting looks in Rose's direction which she studiously ignored. She didn't really look like she was having as much fun as she should be.

"Rose, are you alright?" asked Lily over the pulsing music.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Rose. "It's too hot here, I'm going to stand by the window." And she disappeared into the throng.

"Miss Dawn, would you care to be dancing with me?"

Dawn, who had her mouth full of cauldron cake, choked and turned bright red. Swallowing quickly, she turned around and faced Zakai.

"Oh—oh yes, yes, I—I would love to—to be dancing with you."

Zakai smiled at her and placed his hands on her waist. "Is this how you are doing it in England?"

"Oh yes," breathed Dawn. "Yes, that's just fine."

Dawn and Zakai were swept away by the other dancers and Lily and Cassiopeia were left alone with their pumpkin juice.

"Let's dance," said Lily, indicating a group of students dancing without partners. "Join the party."

Lily and Cassiopeia inserted themselves into the crowd of bodies, swaying against the other dancers. Cassiopeia stayed close to Lily and let her mind go and she let the music overtake her.

Lily felt hands on her hips and looked up into the face of Kyle Jordan.

"Hey gorgeous," he said, winking at her. "Having fun?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes. Even _before_ you got here."

Kyle laughed and moved on, handing her off to another set of hands.

"Hey, sugar." Cassiopeia was jerked out of her own word by the feel of another body pressed firmly against hers. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking up into a muscular, tanned chest. "What's a girl like you doing without a partner?"

"Hey, leave her alone." Lily shoved Graham Coote, a Gryffindor in her year, away from Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia looked at Lily in relief.

"Fine, fine," said Coote, throwing up his hands. "Just trying to be friendly."

Lily put a protective arm around Cassiopeia's shoulders. "Let's take a break," she said. Cassiopeia nodded in agreement.

Hot, tired, and thirsty, Lily and Cassiopeia made their way over to the open windows where Rose was standing.

"Hi," said Lily and Cassiopeia.

"Hi," said Rose absently.

"Rose, what's wrong?" said Lily.

"Nothing," said Rose, still gazing out of the window.

"Go," said Cassiopeia.

Lily and Rose looked at her in confusion.

"You want to go down to his party and apologize to him, so go."

Rose looked at the younger girl.

"But—he was wrong!"

"I believe you already told him that," said Cassiopeia. "Now what's the point in feeling bad about it?"

"I—you're right. Thanks," said Rose, and she hurried off toward the door.

"How did you know?" said Lily.

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I didn't. I guessed. It just happened I was right."

As Rose excited the room, two more people entered. Lily drew a sharp breath of surprise.

Hepzibah Vaisey wore tight-fitting leopard-print pants and black stiletto-heeled boots. Her shirt was made of black leather and her hair had been dyed in tiger stripes that fanned out around her heavily made-up face. Next to her, Tamie Harper was dressed in a snake-skin mini skirt. matching go-go boots, and a dark red tube-top. Her stick-straight blond hair was streaked with green and silver and her lips and eyes were painted to match. Both Slytherins had on florescent orange nail polish.

Lily was half way across the room before she was aware of moving.

"Hepzibah, Hepzibah, over here!" she said, waving to the older girl. Hepzibah turned in her direction.

"I didn't expect to see you here," said Lily, "I thought you'd be at Scorpius's party."

"We were," said Hepzibah. "And now we're here."

She and Tamie continued on to the dance floor and proceeded to move sinuously against each other and the other dancers. They were by far the best dancers on the floor.

"Come on, Cassie," said Lily, tugging her friend's hand. "Let's dance again."

Lily tried to maneuver herself so she was dancing near Hepzibah and Tamie, but it was difficult with so many people crowding around here.

The music shifted and everyone rotated. Lily turned and found herself face-to-face with Hepzibah.

The older girl smiled down at her and Lily felt her heart miss a beat; Hepzibah Vaisey was smiling at her! Hepzibah placed her hand on Lily's hip, raising the other one above her head. Now Hepzibah Vaisey was _dancing_ with her!

At the edge of the floor, Cassiopeia watched her friend dance with the Slytherin, arms crossed over her chest. _More ridiculous than Dawn around Zakai _she thought with a shake of her head, and went off to get herself some punch.

*****BWST*****

November dripped in cold and dreary. That Rose and Scorpius had made up was confirmed when Lily went back to get a book she had left behind in the History of Magic classroom and walked in on them snogging on top of one of the desks. Shaking her head in disgust, she stomped back into the corridor with her book.

Lily's foul mood continued for the better part of a week. The weather didn't improve, her teachers were piling on homework, Rose and Hugo were more distant than ever, Marica and Dawn were spending all of their time with Clark and Zakai, and she hadn't so much as seen Hepzibah since the night of Louis's Halloween party.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia, Marica and Dawn were sitting with Lily in the common room on Wednesday evening. Or rather, Cassiopeia, Marica, and Dawn were sitting together in the common room on Wednesday evening, watching Lily stare moodily at her homework and twist her silver bracelet absently around her wrist.

"You need something to cheer you up," said Marica.

"Mmmph," said Lily.

"That essay isn't due until Friday," said Dawn, "let it alone."

"Mmmn," said Lily.

"Let's take a walk on the grounds," said Cassiopeia.

"What?" said Lily, jerked out of her slump. "It's raining!"

"So?" said Cassiopeia unconcernedly. She grabbed Lily's hands and pulled her up from her chair. "Come on, what better excuse for a nice long, hot bath afterwards?"

Reluctantly, Lily followed her friend out of the common room, down the staircases, and out onto the front lawn.

"Race you to the edge of the forest," said Cassiopeia impishly, and before Lily could protest she took off.

"No fair!" called Lily, sliding through the mud behind her more sure-footed friend. She arrived, panting, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest several seconds after Cassiopeia. "You're—fast."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I like to run." She leaned against a tree.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Lily, leaning against another tree beside her.

"Oh, this and that," answered Cassiopeia lightly. "How beautiful the grounds are in the rain, how beautiful _you_ are all soaked through like that, how under-appreciated autumn is as a season in general. People love sun and snow, but the only time they ever talk about rain is to complain. 'It's raining outside, I can't go out' 'Rain ruined my plans' 'If only it weren't raining...' 'Stupid rain', 'miserable rain', 'wet, soggy, in-the-way rain.' If it weren't for rain none of this"—she swept her arms around her, encompassing the surrounding woods and grass—"would exist. Sometimes I think autumn is my favorite season."

Lily took a moment to take in everything Cassiopeia had said. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Well of course," said Cassiopeia. "You're a little like the autumn yourself. Earthy—natural. So, how about those warm baths?"

*****BWST*****

In mid-November, Cassiopeia was asked out for the first time.

"Er—Cassiopeia?"

Cassiopeia looked up from her book and into the face of Jonah Belinksi.

"Yes?"

He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "So I know I was really mean to you in first year, and I'm really sorry about that. And I was kinda hoping you might let me make it up to you...maybe by going out some time or something."

Cassiopeia's brows lifted in shock. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Er—well—kinda—yeah," said Belinski.

It took a great deal of control for Cassiopeia to keep a straight face. "Sorry, Belinski. No hard feelings, but I'm just not interested."

"Oh—well—er," said Belinski, casting a frightened look at Lily, who was watching from the next armchair. "See you later then." And he hurried off.

"No hard feelings? Hmph. Want me to give him a good kick for you?" said Lily, watching the younger boy scurry away with narrowed eyes.

Cassiopeia laughed. "No, let him be. At least he's finally learning some manners." She turned to face Lily, her expression becoming puzzled. "But Lily, why would he want to ask me out?"

"Haven't you seen the way boys look at you?" said Lily.

"Not really," admitted Cassiopeia. "I don't pay that much attention to boys."

Lily could relate. She hadn't paid them much attention either until they started paying attention to her.

"You're pretty," she informed her friend. "No, you're more than pretty, you're...lovely. And what's more you're just a bit...mysterious. Any boy would be lucky to go out with you, but you're too good for all of them."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes.

"Do you really think that or are you just playing big sister?"

"Oh no," said Lily. "I have too many siblings already thanks. My family is quite large enough without adding you too! Besides, I don't think Scorpius would appreciate having to share you very much."

"Hmph," said Cassiopeia with a very Lily-like toss of her head. "Scorpius will just have to deal."

"I take pity on whoever you do end up dating, Cassie," said Marica from the sofa. "They are in for one hell of a time."

**AN: Does anyone know where I got the chapter title from? Hint: movie song ;) I heart that movie.**

**Anyway, did you like the chapter? Tell me about it!**

**-SQ**


	21. Chapter 21: A New Look

**Author's Note: So I intended this chapter to go all the way through Christmas break, but it just got too long with too much going on, so I cut it off in the middle of break.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter, sorry to disappoint you.**

**Chapter Twenty-One: A New Look**

"My dang hair!" Lily exploded, shaking the long red strands out of her face for the umpteenth time. "It is _always_ in the way!"

"Why don't you cut it then?" said Cassiopeia from her chair.

"What?"

"I said why don't you cut it," said Cassiopeia, sitting up and closing her book. "If it's bothering you."

Lily blinked at her. "Cut it? But...I've always had long hair. Ever since I was little. Mum used to comb it out for me every day."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "It's your decision."

Lily looked thoughtful. "Hmm...I have to admit, it is tempting..." she fingered her fiery locks. "Why not after all... Try something new... But I wouldn't know how to go about it."

She looked at Dawn and Marcia who shrugged.

"My mum trims my hair," said Marica.

"I get mine cut at a Muggle salon back home," said Dawn.

"I could do it for you," said Cassiopeia.

"Really?" said Lily, looking at her best friend in surprise.

"Sure," said Cassiopeia.

"When?" said Lily.

"How about tonight?" said Cassiopeia. "In the girls' bathroom."

"O-Okay," said Lily. "That sounds...good."

*****BWST*****

That evening after dinner Lily, feeling rather nervous but also excited, followed Cassiopeia into the Gryffindor girls' bathroom.

The younger girl was carrying shampoo, conditioner, a stool, a towel, a comb, several bottles, and a pair of scissors.

"What's all that stuff for?" asked Lily, pointing to the contents of Cassiopeia very full arms.

"We need it to cut your hair properly," said Cassiopeia. "Here, sit down."

"Have you ever done this before?" asked Lily.

"No," said Cassiopeia with a shake of her blond head. "But I know how."

"Alright..." said Lily hesitantly.

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to," said Cassiopeia.

"No. No, I do want to," said Lily.

She sat on the stool and Cassiopeia draped the towel around her shoulders before tilting her head back into the sink and beginning to wash her hair.

"Why do you have to wash it if you're going to cut it off anyway?" asked Lily from under the faucet.

"So the cut's even," replied Cassiopeia, small hands working shampoo into a lather on Lily's head.

Lily closed her eyes and relaxed, enjoying the soothing sensation and Cassiopeia shampooed, conditioned, dried, and finally combed her hair.

"What kind of style do you want?"

"Huh?"

"How do you want your hair cut?"

Lily opened her eyes. "I don't know...I never really thought about it. You decide. I trust you."

For the better part of an hour, Cassiopeia's deft, nimble fingers measured, cut, sprayed, combed, trimmed, brushed, patted, dried, gelled, and styled Lily's hair. Lock after red lock fell into an ever-growing pile at Cassiopeia's feet. The air filled with the scent of hair products. Finally she stepped back and examined her work.

"I'm done," she announced. "You can look now."

Lily slowly worked the kinks out of her neck and then turned to look at the mirror.

She gaped soundlessly at her reflection.

"What do you think?" asked Cassiopeia nervously.

"It's—it's so _short_," said Lily.

Indeed it was. Gone were the elbow length dark red tresses. Her hair was now only a couple inches long, gelled and sprayed into a spiky style around her head.

"You don't like it?" said Cassiopeia, feeling crestfallen. It was daring, she knew, but she had felt sure that her friend would like it. It had just seemed so _Lily_.

"No, no I do like it," said Lily, reaching up to feel her new haircut. "It's—wow, it's really different. But it's cool."

Cassiopeia smiled. "Really? You're not just saying that so I don't feel bad?"

"No, honestly. I like it." She grinned. "Let's go show Dawn and Marica.

Cassiopeia giggled. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."

"They're going to be nothing compared to my family," said Lily.

The two girls exited the bathroom and cast their gazes around for their two friends. Spotting them sitting over by the fire, Lily and Cassiopeia trotted over to them.

Dawn and Marica looked up and did a double take.

"_Lily?"_

Lily bobbed her head in affirmation. "Yep, it's me. D'you like it?"

"Wow," said Marica. "Yeah...yeah I do, but...wow. It's really...different."

Dawn nodded, wide eyed. "I knew you were cutting it shorter but, man..."

"It is shorter, alright," agreed Lily with a grin.

"I never imagined you with short hair," said Marica. "But somehow it fits you."

"It does, doesn't it?" said Cassiopeia, settling herself cross-legged in her favorite chair.

"Thanks, Cassie," said Lily, running her hand through her newly-cut hair.

*****BWST*****

Lily was right, her friends' reactions to her new haircut had nothing on her family's.

Louis, coming down the boys' staircase the next morning, saw Lily standing by the portrait hole, tripped over his own feet, and send his books flying everywhere.

Laughing, Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, and Dawn went to help him pick them up.

"Your—your hair," said Louis, staring at Lily as though she had grown an extra pair of arms. "What—"

"I cut it," said Cassiopeia, smiling.

"It was getting in my way," said Lily. "What do you think?" she asked anxiously. Louis's opinion was important to her.

Louis smiled at her. "C'est choquant, mais lui une bonne manière," he said, turning her around so he could get a good look at her. "Oui, j'approuve. But Lily," he added, "what really matters is that _you_ like it."

Lily nodded. "I do. I love it."

"Merci," said Louis as Marica handed him his fallen books. "Come along, mes mademoiselles, to breakfast."

"We're not _yours_, Louis," protested Lily as they left the common room and started down toward the Great Hall.

"Yeah, we don't belong to you," said Marica, giving him a playful shove.

"Says who?" said Louis, catching her tightly against him.

Marica giggled and tried to squirm away.

"Hey, no fair!" she protested. "You're older than me!"

Louis ruffled her hair. "Awww...poor baby..."

Marica made a face at him and ducked out from under his arm. "Ha! Oh, look, there's Clark. See you in a minute." And she hurried off toward her boyfriend.

"Oh Louis!"

Louis looked away from Marica and Clark, who were currently exchanging a good morning kiss. Janelle Abercrombie, a very pretty sixth year Gryffindor with an up-turned nose and pouty lips, and her fourth year sister Joan, were waving to him from across the entrance hall.

"See you later, girls," said Louis, and he went to join the Abercrombie sisters, walking into the Great Hall with one on each arm.

_*****_BWST*****

Albus's reaction to Lily's new look was not as positive.

"What the _hell_ have you done to your hair, Lils?"

"Cassie cut it for me," said Lily, tossing her head.

"_Why?"_ asked Albus incredulously.

"'Cause I wanted her to," said Lily crossly. "What's it to you?"

"Mum's going to have a hippogriff," said Albus.

"I don't recall any rules about cutting our hair while we're at school," retorted Lily.

"Oh, let her alone, Al," said Rose. "It's her hair."

"Thank you, Rose," said Lily stiffly.

As Albus, Rose, Hugo, and Scorpius passed them, Hugo leaned toward her and whispered. "I kind of like it."

Lily smiled at him. Good old Hugo.

_*****_BWST*****

The second Hogsmeade weekend of the year came halfway through December. Lily had assumed that she, Cassiopeia, Marica, and Dawn would all be going together, but that was not to be the case.

"Sorry, Lily," said Marica sincerely. "Clark and I are going together, just the two of us."

Lily nodded. She understood. If she had had a boyfriend then she might have wanted to go alone with him too. It would have to be just her, Cassiopeia, and Dawn then.

Or not.

"Lily, Marica, Cassie, Zakai asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him, since he doesn't know his way around totally yet and he has no one to go with. He didn't _call_ it a date but..." she bounced up and down excitedly, grinning like a maniac.

Lily laughed. It was hard not to be happy for her enthusiastic friend. "That's great Dawn. I'm sure you'll have a blast. She and Cassiopeia looked at each other.

"I guess it's going to be just the two of us then," said Lily. "What should we do?"

"Where did you get that outfit you bought last year? The one with the mermaid skirt," said Cassiopeia. Can we go there?"

"Of course," said Lily. "In fact, I've been thinking that I really need a new look to go with this new haircut. None of my old clothes look right on me anymore."

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia spent the entire morning in the clothing store. Cassiopeia bought a few things, but mostly they focused on Lily's new look. They replaced Lily's skirts, leggings, and snug jeans with looser-fitting jeans and several pairs of cargo pants and shorts. Her blouses, most of which had been bought by her mother, were replaced with printed t-shirts, both long and short-sleeved, some of which showed off a bit of her stomach. She also bought several colorful belts and a few choice pieces of jewelry and even a couple scarves that Cassiopeia helped her pick out.

"Hey, I like this," said Lily, turning a flower-shaped nose-stud over her fingers. "Pity I haven't got the piercing for it."

"That's easy enough to fix," said Cassiopeia.

"What, you can do that too?" said Lily dubiously.

"No," said Cassiopeia. "That is, I suppose I could, but you'd better have it done professionally. Do you know anyone who could take you?"

Lily thought about it. "You know...I think I do at that. I'll bet you my godbrother Teddy would do it. He's the one I was with at the Breathless Banshees concert that one time, remember?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "He seemed cool."

"He's the best," agreed Lily. "You should really meet him."

*****BWST*****

When Lily's and Cassiopeia's stomachs began to grumble, Lily paid for her new clothes and accessories, including the nose-stud, and went to have lunch at the Three Broomsticks. There they met up with Tamzen and her latest boyfriend, a seventh year Ravenclaw who enjoyed dominating the conversation, and hung out with them for a while. Lily and Cassiopeia returned to the castle fairly early and Cassiopeia helped Lily put away her new clothes, and bag the old ones to get rid of.

When that was done, they sat down on Lily's bed.

"Thanks for helping me decide my new wardrobe, Cassie," said Lily, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. "You have good taste."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I spend a lot of time looking at magazines. Some of the styles in there are just foolish, but there's stuff to learn from too. She flipped onto her back so that she was looking up at Lily.

Lily had a sudden idea. "Hey, Cassie, why don't you come to stay during the Christmas holidays? I'm pretty sure Al already asked your brother to come."

"He did," Cassiopeia confirmed. "I'll write to my parents, but I'm sure they'll say yes." She flashed a smile. "They always do."

Lily laughed. "Who could say no to you?"

*****BWST*****

Dawn and Marica came back about an hour later, looking flushed and excited.

"You'll never guess what happened while I was in Hogsmeade!" said Dawn.

"What?" said Lily and Cassiopeia together, sitting up and looking at their friend expectantly. She was practically writhing with excitement.

"Zakai kissed me!" squealed Dawn, hugging herself and spinning around in a circle. "He actually kissed me!" She fell down onto her bed and flung her arms out above her head.

"Cool," said Lily. "That's really great."

"Isn't it though?" said Dawn.

"Are you two going out now then?" asked Cassiopeia.

Dawn nodded her head enthusiastically. "Uh huh! He told me he really likes me!"

"I could have told you that," said Marica, sitting down on her own bed. "He can hardly take his eyes off you."

"Tell me I'm not dreaming," said Dawn.

"You're not dreaming," the other three chorused.

*****BWST*****

End-of-term exams came and went in the usual flurry of worrying and studying (or not), and before they knew it the Christmas holidays were upon them.

"Why are they always called the Christmas holidays?" complained Dawn. "I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate Hanukkah. In primary school they always called them the winter holidays."

Lily shrugged. "Wizards are old fashioned. Maybe the name'll change in a couple decades, if you apply for it now."

Marica made a face at her. "Oh come on, the Ministry's not that bad."

"True," conceded Lily. "And I'd better not badmouth it. Half of the members are my family and our friends."

The four girls stowed their luggage on the racks and sat down in the compartment. It was a rather uneventful train ride. A few explosions went off in the corridors, but everyone ignored them except for Marica who, as a prefect, was duty-bound to investigate. They played BS and Exploding Snap and ate food off the trolley and eventually the train wound its way into King's Cross Station.

"Bye Dawn, bye Marica, bye Cassie!" said Lily, giving each of her friends a big hug as they got off the train. "I'll see you soon."

"And I'll see you sooner," Cassiopeia added.

Lily nodded. "With you there I can even endure Scorpius staying at my house for a week," said Lily with a smile.

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes.

"Cassie? Cassie, where are you?" Scorpius's voice came through the crowd.

"Coming!" she called to her brother, and scampered off.

As Lily made her way to her family, others of her friends waved to her. River and his girlfriend, Tamzen, Brandi, Paloma, even Kyle Jordan. Lily caught sight of Hepzibah Vaisey and Tamie Harper disembarking the Hogwarts Express and waved at them until they saw her and waved back. She was still grinning when she finally located her family.

The first thing Lily's father said to her when he saw her was "How's my girl?"

The first thing her mother said was "Your hair!"

Lily returned her father's hug and looked at her mother. "It was in the way so I had Cassie cut it."

"Your beautiful hair," said her mother sadly.

"I like it," said Lily stubbornly. "I like it better this way."

"But you can't do anything with it," said Ginny.

"Now I don't _have_ to do anything with it," corrected Lily. "Mum, it's my hair. I'm not a little girl anymore."

"I know," sighed Ginny. "But I do wish you'd talked to me first. And having your friend cut it... What if it had gone wrong?"

"It didn't though," said Lily.

"But what if it had?" said Ginny.

"I trust Cassie," said Lily. "She had good taste and a good eye."

Harry looked his daughter up and down. "New clothes?" he asked.

Lily nodded. "A whole new look."

Her mother shook her head sadly, but Harry smiled at her. "My little girl is growing up."

_*****_BWST*****

"Teddy?"

It was three days before Christmas and her god-brother was lounging on the couch. Lily came and sat on the arm of it.

"Yes?"

"Have you bought my Christmas present yet?"

Er—" said Teddy. He always put things off until the last minute. Organization and planning were not his strong-suites.

"Oh good," said Lily.

"That's good?" said Teddy.

"Uh huh," said Lily. "'Cause I wanted to ask you for something specific."

"And what would that be, Lils?" asked Teddy, sitting up.

"I want to get my nose pierced."

"What?"

"Shhh! Teddy, please, I really want to get it pierced. Just a little stud." She pouted prettily at him.

"I'm not saying that it won't look good on you or that I'm against it, but Harry and Ginny'll have my head," said Teddy.

"Aw, Dad won't mind. "Come on, Teddy."

"Since when have you become such a rebel?" asked Teddy teasingly.

"I'm not a rebel!" protested Lily. "I just want my nose pierced."

"Alright, alright," said Teddy. "I know a guy who has a place. One of my Muggle friends."

Lily threw her arms around her godbrother. "Thanks Teddy!"

"But I'll have to talk to Harry first, you need parental permission. I'm not taking you anywhere sketchy."

"Okay," said Lily. "Tell me what he says right away."

"Will do, little sis," said Teddy, ruffling her hair.

*****BWST*****

Christmas in the Potter/Weasley family was as fun and hectic as ever. Everyone got piles of presents, ate way too much food, stayed up far too late, and made a ridiculous amount of noise. Ginny kept casting glances at Lily's hair and sighing, but that was not enough to dampen anyone's spirits, even her own.

Lorcan and Lysander were excitedly telling everyone who would listen about their first term at Hogwarts and how cool it was to be in Ravenclaw, and about all of the strange and interesting things they'd learned so far in their classes. Lily was quite content to let them, rather than her new haircut and wardrobe, take the spotlight.

*****BWST*****

On Christmas morning, after being awoken by Lorcan and Lysander, Lily came downstairs to the smell of delicious goodies cooking in the kitchen and a massive pile of presents arranged beneath the tree in the living room. As she sat down at the dining room table, Teddy passed by her and whispered in her ear. "Your dad said yes. I booked you an appointment for tomorrow."

Lily did a quick, subtle victory dance in her seat and then began to eat her breakfast; the faster they ate, the sooner they got presents.

*****BWST*****

Lily loved all of her presents, but the one that was quite possibly her favorite came from her father.

Harry left the room half-way through the present opening and came back holding his hands suspiciously behind his back.

"Close your eyes," he told his daughter, a barely-suppressed grin showing in his eyes.

Lily obliged, wondering what her father could possibly be giving her.

"Now hold out your hands."

A moment later Lily felt something soft and warm being pressed into her palms. She opened her eyes and squealed. A light cream colored kitten stared back at her with wide amber eyes.

"Mew?" said the kitten.

"Oh, _Dad_," said Lily, cradling the kitten against her chest.

"Do you like her?" asked Harry.

"Like her?" said Lily. "I love her! Thank you!"

The kitten nuzzled her heck and began to purr.

"I'll name her Marzipan," Lily decided.

"Marzipan?" said James.

"Yep," said Lily. "It's a kind of Muggle candy Dawn sent me. It's delicious and just the same color as her fur."

"Can I pet her?" said Hugo.

"Of course," said Lily, holding the kitten out to her cousin. "But be gentle."

"I will," Hugo assured her.

Albus snorted. "What's so great about a kitten anyway?"

"You're just jealous," said Lily as Hugo turned his pet into a quick pat and then returned to his seat next to Albus.

"As if," said Albus.

"No fighting," said their grandmother in a no-nonsense voice that had to be obeyed. "It's Christmas."

*****BWST*****

The next day, true to his word, Teddy took Lily to get her nose pierced.

"Remember, this was your idea," he told her, as they walked into the little shop. The sign on the door read: "BEAU'S BODY BEDAZZLEMENTS"

Lily looked around the inside of the store. It was small and cozy. The walls were hung with strings of beads, sketches, and brightly colored scarves. The counter and walls were crowded with merchandise and three chairs were crowded into the front corner. A bright blue door led into a back room. It bore a hot pink sign:

"Tattoo and Piercing Station. Sanitary Environment. Await Instruction to Enter."

The man behind the counter looked up and grinned.

"Teddy! Long time no see!"

He came out from behind the counter and wrung Teddy's hand. He was tall and muscular, probably in his late twenties. His hair was dyed bright blue and cut in uneven chunks, some only a couple inches long, others brushing the collar of his open polo shirt. Rings and gems gleamed from piercings in his lip, eyebrow, and ears, and a metal ball in his tongue clacked against his teeth as he talked. There was a tattoo of a fierce looking tiger on one of his shoulders and a tattoo of an intricately scaled dragon on the other bicep. Other, smaller tattoos decorated his exposed chest.

"And you must be Lily," he said, turning to Lily and clapping her on the shoulder with a large, ringed hand. "I'm Beau. Short for Beauregard, but no one ever calls me that except my mother." He made a face. "Teddy says you're interested in getting a nose piercing."

Lily nodded, feeling suddenly shy. _He's so _big, she thought. _And so _loud. _This must be how Cassie feels all the time._

"You can sit down here," said Beau, indicating one of the chairs in the corner. "And we'll talk a bit about it."

Beau, straddling another one of the chairs backwards, explained the procedure, the risks involved, and the proper way to care for a new nose piercing. Then he pulled out a plastic sheet full of small piercing studs.

"You won't be able to take the stud out for about six weeks, so choose one you like."

Lily considered the array of gems before her. There were gems in every color of the rainbow. Finally she selected a small garnet stud.

"That's the one you want then?" said Beau.

Lily nodded.

"Alright, then come on back. Today's a slow day so I'll do you myself.

*****BWST*****

The actual piercing hurt, but not as much as Lily had expected it to. Once it was done Beau held up a mirror and Lily admired the results.

"What do you think?" asked Beau.

"Looks good," said Teddy approvingly.

"I like it," agreed Lily with a smile.

The three of them went back out into the main room of the shop and Teddy paid Beau at the counter.

"See you later," Beau said, rings glinting in the reflected light from the hanging beads as he waved at them.

Lily waved back. "Bye! Thanks!"

"You take care of that piercing, mind," Beau called.

"I will," Lily assured him.

*****BWST*****

"We're back!" Teddy called as he and Lily came through the door of number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Oh good," said Ginny, coming around the corner from the living room, where she had been tidying up. "_Now_ will you tell me where you went?"

Harry appeared behind her. "Let me see."

"Let you see what?" said Ginny suspiciously, eying her husband, daughter, and godson.

"Er—" said Lily.

"What's that on your face?" said Ginny, taking a step closer.

"A nose stud," said Lily.

"A what?"

"A nose stud," Lily repeated.

"Of all the—Teddy, are you responsible for this?"

"It was Lily's idea," said Teddy. "I just made the appointment and paid for it. Come Ginny, it looks cute."

"But—but—" spluttered Ginny. "You need parental permi—Harry!"

Harry looked at his wife guiltily. "Now, Ginny..."

"You allowed our daughter to get her nose pierced?" said Ginny, shaking her finger at him.

"Well...yes..."

"Probably at some Muggle...parlor or some such thing?" She looked at Teddy.

"Well yes," he said, "but..."

"That we know nothing about," she was back to Harry.

"Now, Ginny, really, Teddy wouldn't let her do anything that wasn't..."

Harry backed away around the corner, Ginny following him. The sounds of their voices faded out.

"Well, that went well," said Lily.

"Harry'll talk her down, he always does," said Teddy, hanging up his coat.

"Yeah, after she tears him down," said Lily, laughing.

*****BWST*****

Ginny was in the vast minority in her disapproval of Lily's new piercing. Hugo thought it was "wicked," Rose proclaimed it "really cool," James complimented her on her daring, Victoire called it "actually rather nice." Ron just laughed and Hermione shrugged her shoulders in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. Even Albus allowed that it was "pretty neat looking." As for Lily, she liked the addition to her new look. She felt more at home with her short spiky hair her looser fitting clothes and her new nose stud than she had ever felt with her old haircut and outfits. And she couldn't wait to show the nose piercing to Cassiopeia.

**AN: I know it's pretty long and a lot of stuff happened. I hope you liked it. I had the haircut & wardrobe change planned for a while before I wrote this chapter, but I just thought of the nose piercing as I was writing it. I think it fit thought. I know it's a big change, but Lily is finally figuring out more of who she is.**

**-SQ**


	22. Chapter 22: Why Not?

**Author's Note: This chapter wasn't really supposed to exist, but the last chapter got too long so I had to split the Holidays in two and then go a bit into the new term. Some major things happen in the chapter, but it's not really to terribly exciting. Oh well *shrug* I'll let you be the judge.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Never have, never will.**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Why Not?**

Scorpius and Cassiopeia arrived via Floo two days before New Year's. Lily and Albus were waiting in the living room for their best friends when they arrived, brushing soot off their clothes as they stepped out of the fireplace.

"Scor!"

"Cassie!"

Ignoring Scorpius as Albus grabbed him and immediately dragged him upstairs, Lily hugged Cassiopeia, grinning. After the two girls had released each other Cassiopeia stepped back and looked at Lily, her eyes immediately lighting on the little garnet nose stud.

"Ooh! You got it!"

"I did," said Lily. "I was right, Teddy took me to get it done. My Mum wasn't too happy about it, but she'll live. Everyone else likes it."

Just then Ginny stuck her head around the door frame. "Lily, are you going to stand there yapping or are you going to introduce us?"

"Oh," said Lily. "Mum, this is Cassiopeia."

Cassiopeia shyly stuck out her hand and Ginny shook it kindly.

"Welcome to Grimmauld place, Cassiopeia."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," said Cassiopeia in a barely audible voice, staring at the carpet.

"Hello," said another voice, "you must be Cassiopeia."

Cassiopeia looked up and her eyes went wide. The man standing in the doorway was none other than Harry Potter himself. She had known, of course, that her best friend's father was Harry Potter, but meeting the famous man in person was something else entirely.

Harry ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Please don't go all 'he's so famous' on me," he pleaded. "Here I'm just plain old Harry."

"And don't you forget it, Mr.," said Ginny, hitting her husband on the back of the head with the oven mitt she still held in her hand. "What happened to cleaning out the study, hmmm? It's a disaster!"

Cassiopeia giggled in spite of herself. Deciding she liked Lily's parents, she raised her head and said shyly. "Hello, Mr. Potter, it's nice to meet you."

"Please," said Harry, rubbing the back of his head, "call me Harry."

"Come on, Cassie," said Lily. "I want you to meet someone."

"Another someone?" asked Cassiopeia . She felt that meeting two people as famous as Harry and Ginny Potter was quite enough for one day.

"Don't worry, you'll like this someone," said Lily, reading her thoughts. "Her name's Marzipan."

"Marzipan?" said Cassiopeia in confusion. "That's a funny name."

"Just wait and see," said Lily.

She opened the door to her bedroom. Immediately a small, cream-colored ball of fluff shot off the bed and began to rub itself against Cassiopeia's ankles, purring loudly.

"Oh!" said Cassiopeia delightedly. "A kitten!" She picked up the little cat, who immediately nuzzled her head against Cassiopeia's neck. Cassiopeia giggled.

"She's very friendly," said Lily, sitting down at her desk. "Almost too friendly. It's hard to get her to leave you alone."

Cassiopeia stroked the kitten lovingly. She had always wanted a cat. And, in fact, she had had one when she was very small. A little gray tabby named Morgana. That had lasted for about two weeks, then Draco and Astoria had realized that the debilitating cold Scorpius had suddenly come down with was really a severe allergy to cats, and Morgana had been given to some family friends.

"Is she yours?" asked Cassiopeia, setting Marzipan down and sitting herself on the bed. As soon as she sat down Marzipan jumped back into her lap.

"Uh huh," said Lily. "My dad gave her to me for Christmas. Speaking of which..." she rifled around in one of her desk drawers and brought out a little silver box. "Here's your Christmas present."

"I have yours too," said Cassiopeia.

They exchanged boxes and opened their gifts.

Lily had given Cassiopeia a pair of dangly silver earrings. Cassiopeia had given her a journal with swirly silver and red cover.

"Oh, I love them!" said Cassiopeia, holding the earrings up to her ears.

"And I love this," said Lily, thumbing through the journal.

The two friends smiled at each other.

"This is going to be the best week ever," said Lily.

"Agreed," said Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

The rest of the week leading up to New Year's was a fun one. Lily, Cassiopeia, Albus, and Scorpius explored all of Lily's and Albus's Christmas gifts, even all hanging out together occasionally. James had to work during the day, but when he came home in the evenings the decibel level in the house nearly doubled. When Lily had had all she could stand of Albus and Scorpius, she and Cassiopeia would escape to her room or bundle up into their coats and sit outside in the branches of the tree that grew beside the house. This came to an end though when the boys found them there and began to pelt them with snowballs.

Lily and Cassiopeia stayed up late into the night, talking and laughing until Ginny stuck her head in and told them that if they made one more sound she'd have to make them sleep in different rooms. Then they would fall asleep wrapped together in the covers of Lily's bed.

Cassiopeia, of course, always woke in the morning before Lily. She would carefully unwind herself from the blankets, careful not to wake her sleeping friend, and go downstairs to read her book, either by the fire or outside in the snow.

Lily would wake a couple hours later, still long before the boys stirred from their bedroom, and go down to join her. By then Ginny would have breakfast on the table, and the girls would be ready to begin their day.

*****BWST*****

The day before New Year's Eve Ginny told Lily and Albus that they had to straighten their rooms before company arrived the next evening. Though they didn't see why this was necessary, considering that the company would not be in their rooms, they knew better than to argue with their mother. Cassiopeia offered to help Lily with her room which, though she had cleaned it right before Christmas, was already less than tidy. That was one thing she had to give Albus credit for; you wouldn't think so, him being a boy, and such a mischievous one to boot, but he kept his things neater than Lily ever managed to keep hers.

*****BWST*****

Lily was going from to her room to the staircase, Cassiopeia having gone down a few minutes earlier to see if lunch was ready, when she heard a noise coming from Albus's room. Knowing that Albus was downstairs, she figured it must be Scorpius, meaning she was not at all interested. She was about to ignore it and keep going when she heard a meowing and what sounded like cursing. Feeling angry—why did people think it was fun to torture animals?—she opened the door.

"Scorpius Malfoy, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"I'm _trying_ to write a letter," said Scorpius, looking up from his seat on his bed. His eyes were bloodshot, and for a moment Lily thought he must have been drinking, then she remembered something Cassiopeia had told her about her brother.

She eyed Marzipan, who was rubbing against Scorpius's side, trying to climb into his lap. He cursed and shoved the cat away, sneezing harshly.

Lily walked over and picked up the cat under her arm. "You're allergic aren't you?" she said.

"You think?" said Scorpius, glaring up at her with watery eyes. "Atchoo!"

Lily shifted her weight. She didn't like Scorpius, not one little bit, but he was her best friend's older brother and her cousin's boyfriend, and her brother's best friend of course, and right now he reminded her painfully of Louis during allergy season. She deposited Marzipan in the hall and shut the door. "Why didn't you just kick her out?"

"I tried," said Scorpius. "But she wouldn't leave me bloody alone. It's not like I could pick her up like you did."

Lily handed him a tissue. "You hate having allergies, don't you? Not 'cause it makes you feel miserable, though there's that too, but 'cause it makes you feel helpless."

"How do you know so much about it?" said Scorpius in a distinctly unfriendly voice.

"Louis," said Lily simply.

Scorpius's eyes narrowed, but the effect was ruined when he launched into a coughing fit.

"You should go take a shower," said Lily. "Your clothes are covered in cat hair."

"Why are you being nice to me?" said Scorpius suspiciously. "You hate me."

Lily shrugged. "You're my cousin's boyfriend and my best friend's older brother, not to mention my brother's best friend. We're going to have to learn to get along sometime. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you, not remotely, I think you're an arrogant jerk, but I'm not going to just stand here and watch you suffer because of something as silly as a little cat. Cassie, Al, and Rose would kill me.

Scorpius smiled ruefully. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right." He stood up and ran a hand through his long, sleek hair. "Er—thanks, Lily." He sniffled and rubbed his nose with his sleeve. As this sleeve was currently covered in cat hair, it sent him into another volley of sneezes.

"For Merlin's sake," said Lily, handing him another tissue, "Malfoy, you're hopeless. Go take a shower before you kill yourself."

Scorpius laughed hoarsely. "I always wondered how Cassie could possibly be friends with you, but I guess you _can_ be friendly. Occasionally."

"Don't get used to it," said Lily, and, with a toss of her head, she left the room.

When she got downstairs she found that lunch was indeed ready, and Cassiopeia was just about to go back upstairs and tell her.

"Where's Scorpius?" said Ginny, looking around the room. "Albus, go find him and tell him that lunch is ready.

"He's going to take a shower," said Lily.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know that?" said Albus incredulously.

"'Cause I told him to," said Lily. "He was up in your room trying to write a letter, only Marzipan had gotten in and was rubbing all over him. He looked like Louis in the middle of April."

"Is he okay?" said Cassiopeia anxiously.

"He'll be fine," said Lily, but Cassiopeia was already running up the stairs.

"Scorp? Scorp?"

"Cassie, I'm in the shower, what do you want?"

"Are you okay?"

"Cassie," said Scorpius's voice. "I can't hear you. Wait a minute."

Cassiopeia waited outside the bathroom door until Scorpius had finished his shower and dressed in new clothes.

"What is it?" he asked, opening the door.

Cassiopeia looked her big brother over. His eyes were still rather red and puffy, but other than that he appeared to be alright.

"Lily said Marzipan was bothering you."

"Marzipan?" said Scorpius. "Oh, you mean the cat. Yeah, bloody thing wouldn't leave me alone."

"Are you okay?" asked Cassiopeia.

Scorpius knelt down and pulled her into a hug. "I'm fine, Cassie."

Cassiopeia kissed her brother's cheek fondly. "I love you, Scorp."

"And I love you too, Cassie," he said, ruffling her hair. "Always." He stood up. "Come on, isn't it lunch time yet? I'm starved."

*****BWST*****

People started gathering at Grimmauld Place the next evening at five o'clock. Nearly everyone who had been there for Christmas was going to be there, with the exception of the Scamanders, who had gone to visit Rolf's family for New Year's.

When Teddy and Victoire arrived, Lily managed to get to them before either of her brothers.

"Before Al and James steal you away, I want you to meet my best friend Cassiopeia," said Lily to her godbrother. "Cassie, this is my godbrother Teddy. Teddy, this is Cassiopeia Malfoy."

"Hi," said Teddy. He tilted his head. "You look familiar..."

"Breathless Banshees concert two years ago," said Cassiopeia softly.

"Oh, now I remember!" said Teddy. "You've grown up since then."

"So people say," said Cassiopeia. For some reason she felt more comfortable around Teddy than she did around most people she was just meeting. He was just an easy person to feel comfortable around.

Cassiopeia warmed up to Teddy even more later as he entertained them by turning his hair different colors and changing the shape of his nose.

Everyone was having a great time, until Uncle Ron went inside to get the champagne and found Rose and Scorpius snogging in the kitchen.

"What the bloody hell?"

Everyone came running to find a very embarrassed but stubborn looking Rose staring down her father, Scorpius's arm clamped firmly around her waist.

"What's going on, Ron?" said Hermione, stepping through the gathered crowd to Ron's side.

Rone pointed mutely at the two teenagers in front of him.

Rose shifted her gaze to her mother.

"We're dating," said simply. "I know I should have told you. But I was afraid of what Dad would say. And I didn't want to make a big deal out of it if, you know, it didn't work out. But it _is_ working out. And we love each other." She turned back to her father. "And you can shout and scream all you want, Dad, but it's not going to make any difference.

Ron gaped at his daughter. "My daughter is dating a Malfoy."

"I love him, Dad."

"My daughter is dating a _Malfoy_."

"And he loves me."

"My _daughter_ is—"

"We get it, Ron," snapped Hermione impatiently. "And your son and nephew are in Slytherin and best friends with said Malfoy."

"Come on, mate," said Harry. "I know it's a shock, but you know Scorpius. He's a good boy."

Ron shook his head. "What is the world coming to?"

"Mr. Weasley," said Scorpius, taking a step forward. "I should have told you sooner. But I promise I'll be good to Rose."

"There's still time to change your mind, right?" pleaded Ron.

"I don't feel like changing my mind," said Scorpius firmly.

Ron looked around at his family, as if begging for support. His eyes fell on Lily and Louis, the two he knew had always hated Scorpius.

Louis opened his mouth to say something, but Lily cut him off.

"I've never liked him," she said, jerking her head at Scorpius. "But Rose obviously does. And he obviously liked her. And, whatever his faults, I really don't think he'd hurt her, and I don't think Rose would choose someone if they didn't have _some_ good qualities, even if you and I can't see them."

Louis bit his lip and then slowly nodded. "Rose is way too smart for that," he acknowledged grudgingly.

Ron looked defeated. "I don't like this," he said. "I don't like this one bit. If I hear you've done anything, anything at all to my daughter—"

"Ron," said Hermione, grabbing his arm firmly

Harry took his other arm, and the two of them guided him away from Rose and Scorpius.

Scorpius kicked the floor with his shoe. "Damn."

"Ah, come on Scorp, it couldn've gone worse," said Hugo encouragingly. "Dad'll come around."

Rose looked at the ceiling. "Merlin I hope so."

*****BWST*****

The rest of New Year's and the days following were rather awkward and subdued, and Lily and Cassiopeia were quite glad when it was time for term to start again.

Harry and Ginny took Lily, Albus, Cassiopeia, and Scorpius to King's Cross station and the four of them quickly went off to find their friends.

The ride back to Hogwarts was uneventful, filled with discussions of what everyone had done over the holidays. Halfway through, the compartment door opened and, of all people, Kyle Jordan stepped through it.

"Mind if I join you?"

Zakai and Clark both hit their girlfriends upside the head as they watched Jordan a little too keenly as he took a seat beside Lily.

Lily, who was unaffected by his apparently mind-numbing charm, moved over to give him room and said, "What are you doing in here, Jordan? Did you run out of ditzy bimbos to chase?"

Kyle laughed heartily. "Actually I got tired of being chased by them. I figured everyone in this compartment would be either taken or sane."

Lily rolled her eyes. "If you're not careful, you're going to be brained by the boyfriends of the said taken ones."

"Aw, come on Lils," he said, "you know I'm not a girlfriend thief. Besides, Dawn and Marica would be fools to leave such wonderful catches." He winked at the other two boys, who couldn't help smiling back at him. Everyone liked Kyle Jordan, because he liked everybody.

*****BWST*****

When the train finally pulled up at Hogsmeade Station, they were more than ready to eat dinner and then go to bed, knowing that their teachers would be more ruthless than ever in class the next day.

This prediction turned out to be right. Now that they were into second term, the teachers were really cracking down on the fifth years to prepare them for the coming O.. By a week into the new term, Lily was sure that she, Dawn, and Marica would go crazy if it weren't for Cassiopeia. The younger girl never failed to provide exactly the words they needed to get them through their homework without having a nervous breakdown.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica were sitting in the Gryffindor common room one evening, working on a particularly tricky bit of Transfiguration homework, when Lily heard a voice call her name.

By the reactions of the girls around her she knew who it must be before she even turned around.

"Hi Jordan," she said with a slight roll of her eyes at the way he was leaning against the wall by the boys' staircase.

"Hi Lily," he said, pushing off of the wall and coming toward her.

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

He smiled. "I have a question for you." He leaned over her chair. "Will you go out with me?"

"What?"

"Will you go out with me? I like you. I want you to be my girlfriend."

Lily stared at Kyle. He was handsome, no doubt about that, with his chocolate colored skin and amber eyes and long, black dreadlocks. And nice, even if he was a bit too full of himself. Lily wasn't head-over-heals for him like most of the other girls, which would be good for him, but she liked him; he was someone she could definitely have a good time with. This was completely unexpected, but not, she supposed, entirely unwelcome. Lily had never had a boyfriend before. True, she had never really wanted one, but...

"Sure," she said after a moment. "I'd love to go out with you."

**AN: And now Lily has a boyfriend! What do you think? And is she actually starting to get along with Scorpius? *gasp* As a side note, my mom always makes me clean my room for company that is not going to see my room. I don't see the logic. Anyways, if you have thoughts on the chapter, put them in a review :)**

**-SQ**


	23. Chapter 23: Valentine

**Author's Note: About the speaking without words thing: They're not literally hearing each other's voices in their heads or anything. You know when you know someone so well you can just look at them and they know what you're thinking by your body language and facial expression? It's like that. I only wrote actual words as a kind of translation into something that you can understand in writing.**

**Okay, I'll stop talking so you can read.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Didn't own Harry Potter last week, don't own Harry Potter this week, won't own Harry Potter next week. **

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Valentine**

"Oh my God, Lily," Dawn gushed as she, Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica walked up the stairs to the fifth year girls' dormitory. "Oh my _God_! You are soooooo lucky. This is...this is unbelievable!"

"What's unbelievable?" asked Brandi from where she lay, sprawled out on her bed.

"Lily got asked out," said Marica. "And you'll never guess by whom."

"Oh?" said Tamzen with interest, looking up from painting her nails sparkly blue.

"Kyle Jordan!" burst out Dawn, unable to contain herself any longer.

Brandi sat up so fast she nearly fell off the bed. Paloma, who had been reading a magazine, gave a little squeak and dropped it. Tamzen stopped with the polish brush hovering over the bed, headless of the drips falling on the comforter.

"_What?"_

"It's true," said Marica, nodding. "Kyle Jordan came up to Lily in the common room and asked her to be his girlfriend."

Tamzen whistled. Brandi swore. Paloma said, "Of all the girls he could have picked... No offense Lily, but how did you end up with the hottest guy in the House?"

Lily shrugged, blushing. "I don't know. He said he liked me."

Tamzen sighed dreamily. "Kyle Jordan...I wish he'd like _me_..."

"He's Lily's now," said Brandi, punching her friend in the shoulder.

"Yeah, so hands off," said Marica.

Lily blushed even harder.

"You _did_ say yes this time, didn't you?" said Paloma.

"Yes," said Dawn. "Come on, she's not _that_ daft!"

"_Guys!"_

*****BWST*****

"Hey Lily." Kyle came up and put his arm around her waist.

Lily jumped a little. "Oh, it's you."

"Who else would it be?" said her boyfriend teasingly.

Lily shrugged. "No one."

"There better not be anyone else coming up and putting their arm around my girlfriend!"

Lily laughed. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am," said Kyle. "I'm always right."

Lily hit him on the arm.

"Ow!"

"What? Did I bruise your ego?"

Kyle laughed. "Alright, my feisty one. You win that one." He put his large hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I actually had a question for you."

"Oh?" said Lily, smiling slightly.

"I thought we might want to officiate, if you will, our relationship by going on an actual date. How does this Friday sound?"

"This Friday?" said Lily, mentally checking her calendar. "Oh, Kyle, I'm sorry, this Friday is Cassie's birthday."

"Oh..." said Kyle, looking slightly disappointed.

"Kyle, I really do want to go on a first date," said Lily earnestly. "But Cassie's my best friend..."

"I understand," said Kyle, his customary grin back on his face. "It's cute that you're so loyal to your friends." He took her hand in his and kissed it. "We'll just have to make it Saturday then."

Lily smiled up at her boyfriend. "Saturday it is."

*****BWST*****

Friday evening found Lily, Dawn, Marica, Louis, and Rose sitting in their usual corner of the common room, sharing the cakes and candies Cassiopeia had gotten for her birthday and admiring her presents. They had opted not to have a big party this year; the combination of O.W.L.s for Lily, Dawn, and Marica and N.E.W.T.s for Rose would have made it too difficult, but Cassiopeia was perfectly content with this small, private celebration.

"I even managed to pull all of you away from your boyfriends and admirers," she said. Her manner was joking, but underneath was a slight sadness that, being a Malfoy, she kept well hidden. She was happy for her friends, but it could get a little lonely, when all of them were spending time with their boyfriends.

_You never got lonely before you had friends_, Cassiopeia scolded herself. _Be happy for what you have._

"We wouldn't miss your birthday, Cassie!" said Lily.

"Of course not," said Dawn and Marica.

Rose nodded in agreement.

*****BWST*****

The next evening, Lily stood in front of the full length mirror, holding up first one shirt and then the other, trying to decide which one looked best with the blue denim skirt she was wearing.

"I like the lavender," said Cassiopeia from her seat on the bed. "It goes best with your hair. But why are you wearing a skirt? You don't even like them."

"I want to look nice on my first date," said Lily, holding up the lavender sweater again. "You're right, I think I'll go with this one."

"You look nice no matter what you wear, Lily," said Cassiopeia, as Lily pulled on the sweater and buttoned it up.

"You know what I mean, Cassie," said Lily. "I've never been on a date before. Am I supposed to be this nervous? He's already my boyfriend!"

Cassiopeia smiled. "You're asking the wrong person, but I think it's okay to be nervous. Here, let me help you with that."

She stood and rose to her tiptoes to help Lily fasten the clasp of her necklace.

Lily ran a hand through her cropped hair. "How do I look?"

"Gorgeous," Cassiopeia assured her, standing on tiptoe again to kiss her on the cheek. "Now go on, you're going to be late."

Lily grinned and hugged her best friend. "Thanks Cassie, you're the best."

Cassiopeia couldn't help smiling as she watched Lily descend the stairs. It was going to be another night with her and her book, but it was worth it if it made her friend happy.

Lily reached the bottom of the staircase and glanced around for Kyle. She didn't have to look long. He rose from his seat by the fire and came over to her.

"You look lovely, Lily," he said, brown eyes sparkling as he took in her outfit.

"You look pretty nice yourself," she said, admiring his black slacks and navy blue button-up.

"I'm glad you like it." He took her hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously as he led her through the common room and out of the portrait hole.

"I thought maybe we'd just go for a walk," said Kyle. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," said Lily. "A walk sounds lovely."

So walk they did; through corridors, up and down staircases, and into parts of Hogwarts castle that Lily had never even known existed.

It was quite dark by the time they arrived back at the Fat Lady.

"Did you have a good time?" asked Kyle. "I know it wasn't very exciting or—"

"Yes, I had a very nice time," said Lily. "Thank you."

Kyle stared down into Lily's eyes, and for a moment Lily thought he was going to kiss her. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted him to or not, but then he smiled and touched his hand to her hair.

"I had a nice time too," he said. "Thank _you_."

He took her hand again and they went together through the portrait hole. "Goodnight, Lily. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Kyle."

*****BWST*****

"What's it like, Lily, having a boyfriend?"

Lily and Cassiopeia were lying on their stomachs on Lily's bed. They were the only two in the dormitory.

"I dunno," said Lily, fingering her silver bracelet. "It's...nice I guess."

"Nice?" said Cassie.

"Yeah," said Lily. "I mean...he's really sweet. And funny. He makes me laugh a lot, and I like talking to him."

"And touching him?" asked Cassiopeia candidly.

Lily blushed. "Well...yes. Nothing—nothing like _that_. But he'll put his arm around me, or hold my hand."

"Have you kissed him yet?"

"No," said Lily, cheeks going even redder. "Not—not yet."

"Don't you want to?"

"I—I don't know," said Lily honestly. "I do kind of want to see what it's like...and he _is_ my boyfriend."

Cassiopeia nodded in understanding. "I kind of wonder myself. You'll have to tell me once you know." She pillowed her head on her hands as Lily ran the brush through her long, pale hair. "When's your next date? Do you have one planned yet?"

"Valentine's Day," said Lily. "And then we're going to Hogsmeade together the day after."

"Ah yes, of course," said Cassiopeia. "The day of love." She rolled over onto her back so that she could look up at Lily. "Do you see the point of the holiday now?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes I suppose I do. I still think it's rather silly though. All the pink and hearts and bad poetry." She shuddered. "I'm glad Kyle isn't into that kind of thing. At least I _hope_ Kyle isn't into that kind of thing."

"I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time," said Cassiopeia, just a little wistfully.

The older girl smiled down at her. "Don't worry, Cassie," she said, brushing a few blond strands from her friend's pale cheek, "you'll find someone special. Someone _nearly_ as special as you are."

"Nearly?" said Cassiopeia, propping herself on her elbow.

Lily put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "_No_ one could be as special as you are."

*****BWST*****

Lily wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but sometime between January first and February thirteenth, she and Kyle had become Hogwarts's new it couple. People she barely knew were throwing around phrases like "perfect together" and "absolutely adorable." Lily had never gotten so much attention in her life.

"Relax, Lily," Rose advised. "They'll get over it. The school got itself all into a tizzy about Scorpius and I dating when that finally got out, but people got tired of it eventually."

Lily sighed. "I just wish I could walk with my boyfriend without everyone talking about how perfect we are together."

"Take it as a compliment," said Rose. "When Harry Potter's daughter dates one of the most popular guys in school, anonymity is a wishful fantasy. Buck up, Lils, you like him don't you?"

"Well, yes, of course..."

"Well that's all that matters then. Go on, you'd better ready." Rose winked at her cousin. "You don't want to be late for your Valentine's date." She checked her watch. "And neither do I! See you later, Lils!"

*****BWST*****

Kyle was, thankfully, not into all of the sappy romance. For their Valentine's Day date he presented Lily with a small bouquet of roses and then he and Lily took another walk, this time around the grounds. It was still quite chilly, but tucked into the crook of Kyle's strong arms Lily wasn't cold.

The thing Lily liked most about Kyle was that they could talk about anything and never run out of things to say. When they had made two full circuits around the lake, chatting all the while, Kyle stopped her with a hand on her elbow.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Lily," he said softly, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Kyle," said Lily.

Kyle brought his other hand to her face.

"Lily, have you ever been kissed before?"

Wordlessly, Lily shook her head.

"Would you like to be?"

"I—I—"

Kyle bent down and pressed his mouth to hers, cutting off her stuttered reply.

His lips were warm, despite the nippy air, and slightly wet. They touched hers for only a moment before he pulled away again, hands still framing her face.

"You might want to try kissing back next time," he said, smiling down at her.

"Sorry..."

"Don't be sorry," he said, tapping her nose with a brown finger. "Practice makes perfect."

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia tapped her fingers thoughtfully against the windowpane in her dormitory. She was, as always, the first in the dormitory to be awake, and she was trying to decide whether it was worth it to go to Hogsmeade today. Being the day after Valentine's Day, all of her friends were going with their boyfriends, leaving her to fend for herself. Not that she minded _awfully_, but she thought maybe she'd just stay behind and work on her homework instead.

So she was very surprised when, some time later, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Malfoy? Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with us?"

Cassiopeia turned around, startled.

Claire Hopkins, one of the other girls in her dormitory, was standing behind her, manicured hand resting on one round hip. "Cat got you tongue, Malfoy?" she said. "I asked you if you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with us."

Cassiopeia blinked. The other girls in her dorm, who usually barely registered her existence, were all looking at her expectantly from behind Claire. Cassiopeia swallowed.

"I—I—ok," said managed to say. "Th-thanks."

Claire looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at Celia MacDougal, who was her best friend.

Cassiopeia quickly gathered up her things and then followed the other girls out of the dormitory.

*****BWST*****

"Please tell me we are _not_ going to Madame Puddifoot's," said Lily, glancing at the heart-bedecked tea shop.

Kyle shuddered. "No thank you. Not unless _you_ want to go."

Lily shook her head vehemently.

"Good," said Kyle. "I was thinking more along the lines of the Three Broomsticks."

Lily smiled. "That sounds _much_ better."

The two of them went in and found a booth to themselves inside the crowded pub, after ordering two butterbeers at the bar.

Sipping their butterbeers, Kyle reached his hand across the table and laced his fingers with Lily's.

"Do you like you butterbeer?" he asked.

"Er—yes," said Lily. "It's just as good as always."

Kyle laughed. "That's what I like about you. You're very no-nonsense and down to earth. You talk sense, not just romantic gibberish."

"I have to say I don't have much experience with romantic gibberish," said Lily with a smile.

"Good," said Kyle. "I approved." He took her other hand. "Now, how about that practice?"

*****BWST*****

"Come on," said Claire Hopkins imperiously over her shoulder. "Can't you keep _up_?"

"Where—are—we—going?" panted Cassiopeia, clutching a stitch in her side as she jogged to keep up with her taller dormmates.

There were seven Gryffindor girls in her year all told, including Cassiopeia. All seven of them had left Hogwarts together, but Cassiopeia, Claire, Celia, and their friend Amanda Jorkins made up the group which was currently making its way up the hill and away from the main part of Hogsmeade.

"It's just a bit farther," Amanda, a dumpy girl with two fat braids on either side of her head reassured her.

Cassiopeia wondered if she had made a mistake, agreeing to come with these girls. They had told her they wanted to show her something really cool, and hadn't been willing to take no for an answer, but so far all Cassiopeia had seen were the usual sights of Hogsmeade.

*****BWST*****

After eating lunch in the Three Broomsticks, accompanied by a few more kisses, Lily and Kyle went back outside into the weak February sunshine.

"What would you like to do now?" Kyle asked.

Lily shrugged. "We could go explore the shops."

"Sounds good to me," said Kyle.

*****BWST*****

After visiting Zonkos and Honeydukes, Lily and Kyle made their way to Glad Rags Wizard Wear. Inside they met Hepzibah Vaisey and Tamie Harper, who were looking at scarves and ties.

"Hello!" said Lily brightly.

Hepzibah looked over at her. "Nice outfit," she said. "I like the nose ring too."

"Really?" said Lily, positively glowing. Hepzibah Vaisey had said she liked her outfit! And her nose ring! "You look really good too."

She did. Then again, Hepzibah _always_ looked good. Today she sported a pair of ripped jeans, the holes patched with swatches of fabric, all in different animal prints. There was a shiny gold belt slung low over her hips and giant gold hoops adorned her ears. Her shirt, a tight-fitting black sweater with white collar and cuffs, accentuated her full breasts. Lily caught herself staring and quickly looked away.

"Hello Hepzibah, Tamie," said Kyle, smiling suavely.

Hepzibah nodded while Tamie batted her eyelashes and said, "Hi Kyle."

Hepzibah slapped her shoulder. "Knock it off, Tamie. You broke up with him, remember?"

"Actually I believe _I_ broke up with _her_," said Kyle, grinning and sliding his arm around Lily's waist.

"You two went out?" asked Lily, looking from her boyfriend to the blond Slytherin.

"Yes, back in our fifth year," said Kyle. "Though she lost no time in getting together with Malfoy."

Tamie shrugged. "What can I say? I'm in high demand."

"So are these scarves," commented Hepzibah. "So if you want me to buy you one you'd better choose. See you around, Lily, Kyle."

This was obviously a dismissal so, feeling slightly put-out, Lily followed Kyle out of the store.

"How many girls _have_ you gone out with, Kyle?" she asked.

"Oh, a good many," said Kyle, shrugging slightly.

Hoping to learn more about the Slytherin she asked, "Did you ever go out with Hepzibah?"

For some reason Kyle seemed to find this very amusing. "No," he said, laughing, "I'm not really her type."

*****BWST*****

As they left the boundaries of the village, Cassiopeia looked around herself uneasily. She hoped the other girls knew where they were going, because she didn't fancy being lost at the foot of these mountains.

"It's just around this bend here!" called Celia's voice from somewhere up ahead. "Hurry up!"

Cassiopeia rounded the bend, but there was nothing, and no one, there.

"Celia?" she called. "Claire?" "Amanda?"

There was no answer.

"Where are you guys?"

Cassiopeia heard someone giggle.

"Shhhh!"

"Hello?"

The sound of running feet and falling rocks, going away from her back toward the village. Then silence.

Cassiopeia knew then what had happened. Claire, Celia, and Amanda hadn't wanted to show her anything cool at all. They had lured her here and then abandoned her as a joke.

Sighing, she turned around and began picking her way back in the direction of the village, blinking back tears. It was no use crying, she was just glad that she had a superb sense of direction. Finding her way back shouldn't be too much trouble.

*****BWST*****

Dusk was beginning to fall. Lily and Kyle were just leaving Dervish and Banges to head back up to the castle when something made Lily look up in the direction of the mountains. A small, forlorn figure was coming down the path, limping.

Lily squinted and shaded her eyes with her hand, she would know that pale hair anywhere.

"Cassie? Cassie! What happened? Are you alright?"

Kyle looked around as she loosed her hand from his. "Lily, what—"

Cassiopeia barely had time to register that Lily was running up the path toward her before she arrived.

"What happened?" she said again, taking in Cassiopeia's scraped palms and swollen ankle.

"I fell," said Cassiopeia. "When I was coming down the trail."

"But why were you up there in the first place?" asked Lily.

"I followed Celia and Claire and Amanda," said Cassiopeia dryly. "It was their idea of a joke."

"They just left you up there?" said Lily, appalled.

Cassiopeia nodded.

Lily hugged her tightly. "Those—those—horrible girls!" She stroked Cassiopeia's hair.

"What's going on?"

Kyle had arrived, looking bewildered.

Lily looked up at him. "Some of Cassie's dormmates decided to play a trick on her and lead her up out of the village then leave her there." She was shaking with anger. "Kyle, she's hurt her ankle, can you carry her?"

"Of course," said Kyle. He stooped to gather the small girl into his arms.

Cassiopeia, feeling shy and close to tears, kept her eyes fixed on the ground.

They took Cassiopeia up to the Hospital Wing, where the nurse fixed her ankle, which was badly sprained but not broken, in next to no time. While the nurse was rubbing ointment onto Cassiopeia's scraped palms, Lily turned to Kyle.

"I'm sorry I kind of ruined our date—"

"Don't worry about it," said Kyle.

"Those girls deserve detention!" Lily fumed.

"Consider it done," said Kyle,

Lily looked at him. "Oh yeah, you're a prefect, aren't you?"

Kyle nodded.

"Alright, Miss Malfoy, you are ready to go," said the nurse briskly. "Do try to be more careful next time."

Cassiopeia nodded. Lily put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on," she said, "you can sleep in my dormitory tonight."

**AN: Oooh! Lily's first kiss(es)! What did you think of the chapter? Feel free to tell me *hint hint***

**-SQ**


	24. Chapter 24: The Deal With Snogging

**Author's Note: Ok, though I don't see that I should really need this warning, considering the summary says that there is femslash, this chapter starts there actually being femslash in the story. That's right people, girls who like other girls, and kiss other girls. If you have a problem with that don't tell **_**me**_** about it, just don't read the story. Otherwise, please do read, and have a lovely day :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: When I opened my mail today there was not an envelope containing the rights to Harry Potter, therefore I still don't own them.**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Deal With Snogging**

Lily was not going to let MacDougal, Hopkins, and Jorkins get away with their dirty trick. Their treatment of Cassiopeia reminded her of the stories she'd heard about the original Marauders' treatment of Severus Snape, one of Albus's namesakes. Never mind the fact that Severus had ended up doing some terrible things, and that three of the original Mauraders were her grandfather, her father's godfather, and her godbrother's father (the fourth had been a spineless backstabbing git so they didn't talk about him), and that she and her brother Albus didn't even particularly get along, no one deserved to be treated like that. Especially Cassiopeia.

Usually Lily would have let Kyle take care of it by giving them detentions and be done with it, but in this instance she thought she might just take a leaf out of Albus's book and give them a piece of her mind as they enjoyed the cool February sunshine out on the grounds the next day.

It seemed that she wasn't the only one who had had that idea.

"Haven't you learned _anything_ about what happens to people who mess with my sister?"

Lily shot an irritated look over her shoulder. "Malfoy, I've got this!"

He ignored her.

"You had better be _damn_ glad she got back safely, or you'd be out there on your hands and knees in those mountains looking for her—provided I let you live that long!"

"Malfoy, shut _up_!"

Scorpius, looking livid, pulled his wand out of his robes and aimed it at the three terrified girls.

"Malfoy! _Are you out of your mind?_" Lily darted forward and grabbed his wrist, forcing his wand away from the younger students.

"Get out of here," she told them coldly. "If either of us sees you anywhere near us for about the next century we will be most displeased."

The girls took the hint and scampered.

Lily turned her attention back to Scorpius, whose wand was currently pointing at her chest as he struggled to go after the girls.

"Malfoy! Scorpius! Get a hold of yourself! Snap out of it!"

She drew back her hand and whacked him in the head. He rounded on her and for a second she thought he was going to hex her, then he let his wand arm fall.

"What in the name of Merlin were you playing at, Malfoy?" she asked angrily. "You are _Head Boy_! You can't go around threatening and trying to hex younger students like that!"

Scorpius had the grace to look ashamed. "I guess I lost my temper..."

"That much is obvious," said Lily dryly, if somewhat shakily.

Scorpius must have noticed her tone, because he said, "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, I'm fine," said Lily, surprised by the question.

"Good," said Scorpius, running a hand through his hair. "Cassie, Rose, and Al would never forgive me if I hurt you or let you get hurt."

Lily laughed. "Somehow I recall saying much the same thing to you not too long ago."

Scorpius smiled.

"Why'd you lose it like that, anyway?" said Lily curiously. "You're usually so...cool and collected."

Scorpius looked just a bit sheepish. "I guess I'm just used to protecting her. She's always been so small and fragile. And when she was little she was kind of sickly too. There were always people, blokes mostly, but girls too, who wanted to tease her and pick on her, or make fun of the fact that I cared so much about her. But she's all I had for seven years, you know? You'd never know it, but I didn't actually have that many friends until I came to school. Why am I even telling you this?"

Lily shrugged. "Al was the same way. He was really shy before he came to Hogwarts."

Scorpius nodded. "I remember. He nearly cried when he was sorted into Slytherin, took me almost a month to get him to come out of his shell."

"When he came home for Christmas we hardly recognized him," said Lily. "He wouldn't shut up. Mostly about you. I guess that's when I started hating you really, before I even met you. You had changed him so completely."

"My first impression of you was from Al too," said Scorpius. "When he said he had a little sister I guess I just kind assumed you were like Cassie; small and shy and quiet. And still pretty much a baby."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well you definitely always treated me like one."

"I know," said Scorpius. "And you're not one. And neither is Cassie anymore, is she?"

Lily shook her head.

"I heard that Cassie had been duped by some of her dormmates and left up in the foothills by Hogsmeade. At first I thought she was still there, lost. I kind of flipped out."

Lily cocked an eyebrow. "Kind of?"

Scorpius laughed. "She's okay, though, really?" he asked seriously.

"Yes, she's fine," Lily assured him.

Scorpius looked suddenly awkward. Or as awkward as someone like Scorpius was capable of looking.

"I—er—never properly thanked you for...you know...with the cat..."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're welcome." She looked at him thoughtfully and then said slyly, "You know, I always wondered how Cassie could adore you so much, but I guess you _can_ be friendly. Occasionally."

Scorpius snorted. "Don't get used to it," he said and sauntered away.

"I still don't like you!" Lily yelled after him.

*****BWST*****

The rest of the month went by and soon it was March. The girls in Lily's dorm decided to celebrate the coming of spring by hosting another slumber party. Lily, Dawn, Marica, Brandi, Tamzen, Paloma, Cassiopeia, and Rose gathered in the fifth year Gryffindor girls' dormitory on Saturday evening with hair accessories and products, lotions, make-up, nail-polish, and a myriad of snacks.

"I honestly think I'm in love," said Marica. "Clark is soooooo sweet and he knows _exactly_ what I want and kissing him…kissing him is like magic. You know those cheesy romantic stories where fireworks go off when people kiss? I always thought they were kind of dumb but..."

"Zakai is just about perfect," said Dawn dreamily. "I could look into his eyes forever...except then I couldn't kiss him. When he touches me it actually gives me chills." She sighed.

"Who's your boyfriend this week, Tamzen?" asked Paloma

Tamzen grinned. "Well, we're not official, but I can tell you from experience that Justin Torrel is _damn _good, all the way around."

"Aren't you a little young to know that, Tamzen?" asked Rose disapprovingly.

"I'm old enough to do what I want," retorted Tamzen, giving Rose a 'What you gonna do about it?' look.

"What about you, Lily?" said Brandi, popping a handful of crisps into her mouth. "What's it like, dating Kyle Jordan?"

Lily looked up from brushing Cassiopeia's hair and shrugged. "Good."

"Good? _Good?_" said Tamzen. "Just _good_? Don't you like him?"

"Of course I like him," said Lily, irritated. "Why does everyone always asks me that? I wouldn't date him if I didn't like him. He's great to talk to, and he's really nice, when he's not being too cocky." She laughed. "Then I have to knock him down a few pegs."

"Don't forget strong," said Paloma.

"And smokin' _hot_!" added Brandi.

"Well yes, there's that," said Lily. "He _is_ strong. He carried Cassie all the way back from the edge of Hogsmeade last month. And he gives great hugs."

"How about kissing?" said Tamzen eagerly.

Lily considered. "It's nice. I like kissing him. And he's good at it. Well, at least I think so, not that I have anyone to judge against."

"How could he be otherwise?" asked Marica.

"He's certainly had the experience," said Cassiopeia.

"Since when is experience a bad thing?" asked Tamzen, grinning.

"What about you, Rose?" asked Marica. "How're you and Scorpius getting on."

Rose smiled. "Aw, come on, that's old news. I'm still as in love with Scorpius as I was before. Maybe even more so."

"Come on, give us the details!" insisted Dawn.

"Yeah, are you getting any?" asked Tamzen.

"That's _my_ business, not yours," said Rose, blushing. "His little sister's here for Merlin's sake! I'm sure Cassie doesn't want to hear the details of her brother's love life."

"Yeah, I'll pass, thanks," said Cassiopeia.

Everyone laughed.

The night passed in much the same manner as their last slumber party had. They talked and ate and did each other's make-up, nails, and hair. Around one in the morning they had a crazy dance party on the beds, which finally ended when Dawn fell off on top of Rose. After that they talked some more until eventually everyone drifted off to sleep.

*****BWST*****

The first to wake the next morning, Cassiopeia slipped out from under Lily's arm and tiptoed out of the room and down to her own dormitory to get dressed. Her watch told her that it was a quarter past nine in the morning, much later than she normally slept. The sun was shining brightly on the grounds outside, and, looking out of the window in the common room, she saw the heads of flowers beginning to show themselves across the grounds. Cassiopeia sat down in her favorite armchair and opened a book, letting herself get lost within its pages.

She was brought out of her literature-induced oblivion by something jumping up onto her lap.

"Why, hello," she said, looking into the large, amber eyes of a gray-striped tabby cat. The cat blinked at her and butted its head against her hand.

Cassiopeia stroked it, feeling a rumbling purr start inside the animal's chest.

Feeling eyes on her, Cassiopeia looked up and saw a chubby, baby-faced first year with soft brown curls standing beside her chair.

"Is she yours?" asked Cassiopeia, indicating the purring tabby.

The boy nodded.

"She's very pretty."

He nodded again.

_Uh oh_, thought Cassiopeia. _He's as shy as I am._

"Do you—er—want her back?" asked Cassiopeia.

The boy scuffed his toe on the carpet.

"Here." Cassiopeia picked up the cat and deposited it in the boy's arms.

"Thanks."

Standing, Cassiopeia and the first year were of a height, for all that he was two years younger than her. His cherubic looks and shyness made it impossible for Cassiopeia to feel nervous talking to him.

"I'm Cassiopeia," she said. "Cassiopeia Malfoy. What's your name?"

"Bryan," said the boy softly. "Bryan Carmichael."

_Carmichael, Carmichael..._ Cassiopeia couldn't think of any wizarding families with that name. A Muggleborn or a half-blood then. Not that it mattered of course.

"What's your cat's name?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Snowflake," said Bryan.

That made Cassiopeia smile. "You like the snow?"

He nodded.

"Me too. I'll tell you what, I'm going down to have breakfast right now, would you like to come with me?"

Bryan's eyes widened, but after a moment he nodded.

"Alright then," said Cassiopeia.

She and Bryan went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Since neither of them were talkative by nature they mostly ate in silence, but Cassiopeia could feel the younger boy becoming more comfortable over the course of the meal.

"Do you have any friends or family here at Hogwarts?" Cassiopeia asked him as they made their way back upstairs to Gryffindor Tower.

Bryan shook his head. "I'm Muggleborn," he explained. "I don't know anyone."

"What about your dormmates?" asked Cassiopeia.

He shrugged. "They're nice..."

Cassiopeia waited.

"But I feel stupid whenever I'm with them. They already know everything and I don't."

"They're far from knowing everything," said Cassiopeia. "I know what it's like to be shy, but it's very nice to have a friend, even if it's only one."

"I'm too scared to make friends," said Bryan. "I'm afraid that they'll laugh at me."

"I'll be your friend if you like," said Cassiopeia.

"Really?" said Bryan.

"Of course," said Cassiopeia kindly.

*****BWST*****

"Cassie, where've you been?" asked Lily as Cassiopeia and Bryan stepped through the portrait hole into the common room.

"I went down to breakfast," said Cassiopeia.

"All by yourself?"

"No, I went with Bryan."

Lily looked behind Cassiopeia and noticed the chubby boy hanging back fearfully.

"Oh, hello," she said.

Bryan didn't say anything.

"He's very shy and doesn't have any friends," said Cassiopeia. "I know what that's like so I told him I'd be his friend."

Lily looked at her. "You're a better person than I was at your age, Cassie," she said guiltily.

Cassiopeia shook her head. "No, just a different person. Kyle's trying to get your attention," she added.

"Oh, thanks Cassie, I'll see you after breakfast—" she checked her watch. "Or lunch, I guess. Bye Bryan."

*****BWST*****

The students of Hogwarts were happy as March eased its way into April and the sun came out in earnest to bathe the castle in its light and warmth. Of course, as with every pleasure, there were downsides to the beautiful spring weather.

"A-A-Atchoo!" sneezed Louis for the eighth time at lunch that afternoon.

Lily reached over and patted his shoulder. "You okay, Lou?"

"Yeah," he croaked. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm fine, ma cherie. It's only that I was just outside for Care of Magical Creatures and there are bunches of trees by Hagrid's cabin.

"Did you take your potion this morning?" Lily asked.

"No," said Louis. He held up a hand as Lily opened her mouth. "I didn't think I'd _need_ it. They usually don't get bad this early."

Marica looked at him and frowned. "Maybe you should go to the hospital wing, Louis."

"No way," said Louis. "I'd never get out. I promise I'll be just fine, I do deal with this every year you know." He rose and gave them each a kiss on the head. "Je vous verrai plus tard, mademoiselles."

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia, sitting in the common room with Lily, Dawn, and Marica working on her homework, felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked up into the chubby baby-face of Bryan Carmichael.

"Hi," she said, smiling. "How are you?"

"Good," he said softly. "I wanted to tell you. One of the other boys in my dorm asked me to study with him and said yes." His eyes lit up. "And guess what? I knew more of the answers on the Charms homework than he did."

"Good job," said Cassiopeia. "I told you you'd do fine."

"Bryan!" shouted a voice from the other side of the room. "Bryan! Come on, mate, I need you to help me with Charms!"

Bryan glanced over his shoulder. "That's Aaron. I should go."

"Go ahead and help Aaron with his Charms," said Cassiopeia. "I'll see you later, Bryan."

"'Bye, Cassie," said Bryan. He turned and trotted off to join his new friend.

Lily had been watching the exchange. "Maybe if I had acted more like that then..."

"We wouldn't be best friends," finished Cassiopeia. "Come on, Lily. _I_ need help with my Potions homework."

*****BWST*****

The third weekend in April was a Hogsmeade weekend. Lily, Kyle, Dawn, Zakai, Marica, Clark, and Cassiopeia were all going together. Friday had been rather gray and rainy, and many students feared that their day in Hogsmeade would be ruined by the weather, but the sun pulled through after all and when the seven friends left for village it was warm enough that Lily left her heavier coat behind and only wore a thin hoodie over her t-shirt.

"I love days like this," said Marica as she walked side-by-side with Clark. "Not too hot, not too cold, sunny but not blinding, the perfect day to be outside with the one you love."

Clark gave her a gentle squeeze.

Kyle smiled and laced his fingers through Lily's as, up ahead, Dawn let her fingers trail over Zakai's chest.

"It is lovely," said Kyle. "And all the more lovely because I get to share it with you." Lily smiled back at him and let him kiss her cheek.

Louis appeared beside Cassiopeia.

"You seem to be missing an escort." He offered her his arm and she took it. "And how are our couples today?" he asked, indicating the group walking ahead.

"They seem to be very well," said Cassiopeia, watching Lily roll her eyes and smack Kyle playfully on the arm.

"How are miss Prewet and the Hufflepuff?" asked Louis, looking at Marica and Clark.

"In love," said Cassiopeia, frowning a bit at how Louis referred to Clark. "Or so they claim, and I see nothing to denounce it."

"They're too young to be in love," Louis scoffed, blowing his nose.

"You're only a year older than them," Cassiopeia observed.

"Yes," agreed Louis. "And I'm not silly enough to think myself in love with anyone yet."

"I don't really think it's your place to judge them," said Cassiopeia gently.

"Hmph," said Louis, scowling at the couple in question. He blew his nose again.

"How are your allergies?" said Cassiopeia, changing the subject.

Louis raised his hand in a 'so-so' gesture.

"Better than last year?" asked Cassiopeia.

"A little," said Louis. "I got—atchoo! a new potion."

At the sound of Louis's sneeze Lily looked back over her shoulder. "Louis! When did you get here?"

"A couple minutes ago," he said, blowing his nose again.

"You sound kind of congested," she said.

"Surprise—atchoo! surprise," said Louis, gesturing to the blossoming trees around them.

Lily left Kyle's side and stood on tiptoe to kiss her cousin on the cheek. "You never learn, do you?"

Louis shook his head cheerfully. "Hi, Jordan," he said. "You treating my little cousin well?"

Kyle grinned. "As if she'd let me do otherwise."

*****BWST*****

Louis stayed with them for a little while longer and then left to find some of his friends and admirers. Lily and Cassiopeia didn't see him again until they returned to the common room again that evening and found him lounging on one of the couches.

"Hey, Lou," said Lily, leaning over the back of the couch.

"Hi, Lils," said Louis hoarsely. "Hi, Cassie."

Lily frowned. "I don't know how you stand it, Lou, I think I'd start biting people's heads off if I felt as bad as you do during allergy season."

Louis shrugged. "You get used to it. Sit down, mademoiselles, I promise not to bit your heads off."

Lily and Cassiopeia sat down beside him. Lily rested her head on his shoulder and Cassiopeia lay down with her own head in Lily's lap.

"I'm knackered," said Lily as Louis ruffled her hair.

"Me too," said Cassiopeia.

"Then go to bed," said Louis, laughing. His laughs turned into coughs and Lily patted him on the back until they subsided.

"Only if you do," said Lily. "You look pretty knackered yourself."

"Alright, deal," said Louis, standing up and helping the two girls up as well. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Feel better, Louis," Lily and Cassiopeia chorused together. They looked at each other and all three of them started laughing. Louis blew each of them a kiss, accompanied by much extravagant bowing, and then headed up the boys' staircase. They could hear him blowing his nose loudly on the way up.

*****BWST*****

What was the deal with snogging, anyway? thought Lily as she made yet another detour on her way to class to avoid a kissing couple. It seemed that everywhere she looked lately someone or another was kissing someone else. Rose and Scorpius, Tamzen and whoever happened to be her boyfriend at the time, Marica and Clark, Dawn and Zakai, Louis and any number of girls, random couples in the common room and corridors. Lily liked kissing well enough; it was pleasant, and Kyle's lips were soft and warm, and it was rather comforting to feel his strong arms around her, but she certainly didn't feel the need to snog him every time she saw him!

She rounded a corner and saw yet _another_ snogging couple. Was there something in the water? Deciding she didn't care whether she interrupted them or not, since if she took any more detours she was going to be late to Transfiguration, Lily continued down the corridor.

In spite of herself, Lily's eyes were drawn to the snogging couple. Both students were older than her and both wore the green and silver ties of Slytherin House. One was short and stocky with dark skin and black hair sporting stripes red-brown dye. The other was taller, with an artificial tan and dyed-blond hair and the body of a super-model.

Lily's brain froze, and her body with it. She knew these people. They weren't just two random snogging students. She _knew_ them. The blond was Tamie Harper, Hepzibah Vaisey's friend. And the other, the other was Hepzibah Vaisey herself.

Lily backed up the corridor so fast she tripped over her own feet and nearly fell. _What was going on?_ Tamie and Hepzibah? _Snogging?_ But...but they were both girls! Girls didn't snog each other. Girls snogged _boys_! Lily felt as though someone had socked her in the stomach. Her chest clenched painfully. Vaguely she remembered knowing that some people preferred partners of the same gender, but she hadn't given it much thought. Lily realized that she was crying. It wasn't that she _minded_ the fact that Hepzibah preferred snogging girls over guys...

She just wished it had been _her_ that Hepzibah had preferred snogging.

What? Where had that come from? And yet... Suddenly the pieces seemed to come crashing together, and Lily wondered how she could have gone so long without realizing it. No wonder, when all of her friends were sighing over pictures of male models in magazines, Lily hadn't been interested, no wonder that, while Dawn and Marica had always been talking about the guys they liked, Lily had never had a crush on any guy. _Lily liked girls!_

**AN: Yes, yes, here we finally have it, Lily realizing that she is a lesbian. What a way to realize, huh? And yes, that is what Kyle meant when he said he wasn't Hepzibah's type. Tamie is bi, that's why she dated Kyle & Scorpius before.**

**Just so you know, there will never be anything romantic between Lily & Scorpius, ever. The scenes between Lily and Scorpius are slowly making them become friendly with each other, and nothing more. If you didn't just catch it, Lily likes girls. And Scorpius is very happy with Rose, thank you very much. **

**The line about Lily liking kissing well enough is kind of stolen from Tamora Pierce's **_**In The Realms of the Gods**_**, 4****th**** book in the **_**Immortals**_** series. Hehe. Love those books.**

**And What Lily says to Scorpius, who whole "You can be friendly" line is almost exactly what Scorpius said to her during the cat scene back during New Years. That was intentional, on both my part and her part.**

**Tell me what you think of the chapter? It's kind of an important one, after all. At least the last part is.**

**-SQ**


	25. Chapter 25: Breaking Up

**Author's Note: This is the last time I am going to say this. I am very pro gay rights and tolerance. That is strongly expressed and demonstrated in this fic. I don't want to hear about how that offends you or anything else. You are free to not read the fic. Otherwise, please do read and enjoy, I think it's getting to the interesting part ;) Not that it wasn't interesting before, or at least I hope it was.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure no one has EVER made the mistake of thinking that I own Harry Potter**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Breaking Up**

Lily ran blindly up to Gryffindor Tower and threw herself face down on her bed, sobbing. Shock, confusion, mortification, hurt, devastation, she couldn't decide which emotion was the most powerful; she couldn't think coherently enough to even begin to sort through them. She couldn't get the image of Hepzibah kissing Tamie out of her head. The realization that she was romantically and physically attracted to girls warred with the fact that she had seen Hepzibah kissing someone else. She didn't know whether it made it better or worse that the person Hepzibah had been kissing had been another girl, she only knew that it hurt. Because her feelings for the exotic Slytherin were, she had now realized, decidedly romantic. The heat that coursed through her whenever she saw the older girl, the funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, the way her skin tingled whenever Hepzibah had happened to touch it...these were all things her friends had been talking about for years in relation to boys they liked. Why hadn't Lily _seen_? She could answer that question herself: Lily hadn't paid much attention when her friends had started going on about boys, she hadn't been interested. _Well obviously_. It had never occurred to her that she could have those feeling about another girl. Oh sure, she knew that some girls felt that way about other girls, but it had never occurred to her that _she_ could.

The image of Tamie and Hepzibah kissing floated to the front of her mind again and fresh tears poured down her cheeks. She turned her face into the pillow. She felt miserable. The words _'How could I have been so stupid?'_ and _'I should have known!'_ cycled through her head, and she wasn't even sure whether they referred to the fact that Hepzibah and Tamie were together or the reality of her own sexuality.

*****BWST*****

"Lily? Lily, where were you? You missed Defense Against the Dark Arts and dinner."

Lily turned away from the sound of Marica's voice.

"Go away."

"Lily, what's wrong? Are you sick?" This was Dawn. She tried to pull back the curtains on Lily's bed, but Lily held them shut.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just really tired."

"Lily, did something happen? It's not like you to miss class."

"Please," said Lily, "just leave me alone."

"Lily," said Dawn, "we can tell something's wrong. Don't you want to talk about it?"

"No," said Lily. "Not right now." But even as she said it she realized she _did_ want to talk about it, but not with Dawn and Marica, not yet. But how could she tell them, the girls who had been her best friends since first year, that the person she wanted to talk to was Cassiopeia?

"We'll come by later," said Marica. Lily could hear them walking toward the door.

"See how you're doing," added Dawn. The door closed.

It wasn't two minutes later when it opened again, so quietly that if Lily had been making any sound she wouldn't have heard it.

"Lily?"

Cassiopeia crossed the room to Lily's bed and pulled back the curtains. This time Lily offered no resistance. She sat down next to Lily, setting herself cross-legged on the red and gold comforter. Lily registered her presence but didn't move or speak. Cassiopeia didn't say anything either; she simply sat there, stroking Lily's short red hair softly. Lily began crying again; deep, soundless sobs that came from her gut and wracked her shoulders. Cassiopeia kept stroking Lily's hair softly until the sobs subsided and she lay still again, head limp against the silky softness of the feather pillows.

Finally, Lily lifted her head and looked up at Cassiopeia.

"What happened?" asked her friend quietly.

"I saw Hepzibah Vaisey kissing Tamie Harper."

Cassiopeia nodded as if she understood. "I'm sorry."

"Did you know they—?"

"Not for sure." said Cassiopeia. "But I suspected."

Lily sat up. "What's the word for a girl who likes other girls?"

"A lesbian," answered Cassiopeia.

"There are people who have a problem with that, aren't there?" said Lily, fingering the silver-and-crimson bracelet she always wore. "Who think girls shouldn't love girls and guys shouldn't love guys."

"There are," acknowledged Cassiopeia.

"Do you have a problem with it?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I think people should be allowed to love whoever is going to make them happy. You can't choose who you like, who you fall in love with."

Lily nodded.

"I like her," she said finally. "Hepzibah I mean. I didn't know until I saw her kissing Tamie. I mean, I knew I _liked_ her, but not that—I didn't even know I liked girls that way until..." Her eyes were stinging with tears again. "It hurt...seeing her kissing someone else. I wished...I wished she were kissing _me_. And then I knew..." She let out a sob and buried her face in Cassiopeia's shoulder. Cassiopeia wrapped comforting arms around her. "It's not that I have a problem with liking...with being a…lesbian. I just—"

Cassiopeia held her as she cried once more, rocking her gently.

"It was just so sudden," said Lily after a while. She looked at her observant, intuitive friend, rubbing her thumb against the silver threads of her bracelet. "Did you know?"

"I wondered," said Cassiopeia. "There were things... But it never really mattered to me one way or the other. So what if you like girls? I don't even think of it that way really. Girls, boys, we're all just people, right? People who like girls don't like _all_ girls. People who like boys don't like _all_ boys. They like individuals. You like Hepzibah. Tamie likes Hepzibah. Tamie used to like Kyle. Then she liked Scorpius. Now Scorpius likes Rose. Dawn used to like Andrew, now she likes Zakai. Marica likes Clark. Individuals. Yes, all the individuals Dawn is attracted to are boys. And all the individuals Scorpius is attracted to are girls. Tamie is attracted to both. You are attracted to girls. People are different in so many different ways; this is just another one of them."

"Wow, Cassie," said Lily. "I never...well, honestly I never gave it much thought."

"Most people don't," said Cassiopeia.

"So why did you?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I had a lot of time on my hands."

"Do you think other people know?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I'm just very perceptive. And I know you very well."

Lily wiped her eyes. "Well, now I know, don't I? That I'm attracted to girls I mean. Not the way I would have chosen to find out but..." She raked her fingers through her hair. "I guess it's one less thing to be confused about."

"Less confusion is good," said Cassiopeia.

Lily leaned over and hugged her friend. "Thanks, Cassie." She rubbed her face tiredly. "Is Louis by any chance in the common room?"

"He wasn't when I came up here," said Cassiopeia. "I don't know if he's there now, but I can check."

"Hold on," said Lily. "I'll go down with you. Just a minute."

She went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face until it was at least less evident that she had been crying.

"Alright," she said, gathering herself. Her nerves still felt raw and there was a dull ache in her chest that intensified whenever she thought of Hepzibah, but she wasn't a total wreck anymore.

Lily and Cassiopeia went down to the common room. Dawn and Marica cast curious and concerned looks in their direction but stayed seated when Lily indicated for them not to come over. She felt guilty, but she would explain everything to them soon, she just needed to talk to Louis first.

Louis wasn't in the common room, but one of his dormmates said he had seen him go upstairs, so Lily and Cassiopeia climbed the boys' staircase and entered the sixth year dormitory.

Louis was lying on his bed, eyes closed, blond head pillowed on one sprawled out arm.

"Louis," said Lily, shaking his shoulder. "Louis, can I talk to you?

Louis opened his eyes and blinked blearily at her. "Wha-a— Lily, have you been crying?"

Lily nodded. "I need to talk to you."

"Of course," said Louis, sitting up quickly.

"Are you expecting anyone to come here soon?"

"No," said Louis. "Why?"

"Can we talk here in private?"

"Sure what's up?" said Louis, pulling Lily down onto his bed beside him. Cassiopeia sat down on Lily's other side. Lily leaned against her cousin.

"I need to tell you something," said Lily.

"What is it, Lils?" said Louis anxiously. "Did something happen? Did someone do something to you?"

"No—yes—no." Lily took a steadying breath. "I—I found something out today. About myself. I realized something in a—well, in a not very pleasant way."

"Lily," said Louis. "What _is_ it?"

She looked up into his face. It showed only anxiety and love.

"I'm a lesbian. I'm attracted to girls."

Louis blinked.

"You're—you're okay with that, right?"

"Okay with—Lily, of course I'm okay with it!" he said, sounding genuinely shocked that she even had to ask the question. He hugged her fiercely. "Lils, I don't care if you like boys, girls, or flying horses, you're my cousin!"

Lily gave him a watery grin. "Thanks Louis, that means a lot to me."

He ruffled her hair. "Besides, who wouldn't like girls? Girls are great." He grinned.

Lily couldn't help but laugh.

"But you said you found out in a not very pleasant way?" said Louis.

Lily nodded. "I saw Tamie Harper and Hepzibah Vaisey." She swallowed. "They were snogging."

Louis looked confused. "Yeah...they've been a couple for a while now."

"They have?" said Lily. "You knew?"

Louis shrugged. "Well yeah, it's not like it's a secret. Is there something I'm missing here?"

"I didn't know they were together," said Lily. "I thought they were just friends. When I saw them snogging that's when I realized I like girls, because I realized I have a major crush on Hepzibah."

"Aw, Lils," said Louis sympathetically. "That really sucks."

"I know."

"I know it's hard," said Louis, cuddling her. "I know it hurts. But don't worry, there'll be other girls."

Suddenly something hit Lily like a crashing hippogriff. "Oh _crap_!"

"What?" said Cassiopeia, startled. Lily never swore.

"Kyle."

Louis's eyes widened in comprehension. "You're still dating him."

"Yes," said Lily. "And now... Well, I know I can't anymore, can I? That wouldn't be fair to either of us. I _like_ him, he's a great guy. But now that I know what it is to like someone in that way, I know I can never feel that for Kyle. But how am I supposed to tell him? Just come right out and say 'sorry Kyle, I can't go out with you anymore, I'm a lesbian'?"

"Why not?" said Cassiopeia.

Lily gaped at her.

"It's the truth, isn't it?" said Cassiopeia.

"Well, yes, but—"

"The first question," said Louis, "is, are you planning on coming out?"

"Coming out?" said Lily. "You mean telling people I'm a lesbian? Yes, I don't plan on shouting it from the top of the astronomy tower, but I'm not going to keep it a secret either."

"That's by girl," said Louis fondly.

Lily looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since she had come to find him. He looked awful. His eyes were red and swollen, his nose was raw, his lips were chapped, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Merlin, Louis, you look terrible!" exclaimed Lily. "Are you sick?"

"Kide of," said Louis. "By allergies are just getting to be really bad."

Lily noticed for the first time that his voice sounded hoarse and congested.

Lily felt horribly guilty. Louis was looking like death warmed over and Lily had been too wrapped up in her own concerns to notice. No wonder he had been sleeping!

"Oh Louis, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize...I shouldn't have woken you."

"Lils, it's okay. You deeded to talk. I'b happy to be here for you." He began to cough.

Cassiopeia appeared at Lily's elbow with a glass of water, which she gave to Louis.

"Thanks," he said raspily.

Lily rubbed his back. "I'm sorry. I should have noticed how ill you looked."

"You deeded be," said Louis.

"But you needed to rest."

Louis shrugged.

"Is there anything I can get you?" asked Lily.

"N-Atchoo! No," he said.

Lily kissed his cheek. "You're the best cousin in the whole world."

Louis blushed but said, "naturellmente."

Lily giggled but then frowned. "Oh Louis," she said, "lie down. You look like you feel awful."

Louis tilted his hand in a 'so-so' motion, but complied, sinking back into the pillows.

"You should go to the hospital wing, Louis," said Cassiopeia.

Louis grimaced. "I'd—Atchoo! really—Atchoo! rather dot."

Cassiopeia handed him a tissue. He blew his nose.

"You're wheezing, Louis," said Cassiopeia.

"Odly a little," said Louis. "Look, as log as I do't oped the widow there's doe polled up here to trigger an a-a-atchoo! A-atchoo! asthma attack or bake be worse. Ad it's dot like Badab Pobfrey cad cure allergies. If I'b dot feelig better id the bording I probise I'll go to the hospital wing."

Lily leaned down to give her cousin a hug. "Okay Louis."

He hugged her back. "Be strog, Lils, everything'll be okay."

"Thank you, Louis. Sleep well."

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia went downstairs to the common room again. First thing was first; Lily owed Dawn and Marica an explanation for her strange behavior.

"Dawn, Marica,"

Both girls looked up. "Lily? Is everything okay?"

"Well, not really," Lily admitted. "I'm sorry I was so—I just...I had to sort through some stuff."

Her friends looked at her with concern. "What kind of stuff?"

Lily glanced around. She was going to be out to everyone soon, but she didn't want everyone to hear just yet because she didn't want to run the risk of Kyle hearing it from anyone but her.

"I have to break up with Kyle," said she said quietly.

"_What?"_

"Lily, are you mental?" said Dawn "He's perfect!"

"I know," said Lily guiltily. "But he's not perfect for me."

"How do you figure that?" said Marica. Then comprehension dawned on her face. "Is there someone else?"

"Well...yes and no. There is someone else I like, but she's already with someone else."

"Then why—wait..._she_?"

Lily nodded at Marica. "Yes. Hepzibah Vaisey."

Her two oldest friends stared at her, dumbstruck.

"You see why I have to break up with him."

"You like girls," whispered Dawn softly. "That..."

"...explains more than it doesn't," said Marica.

"Can you not mention this to anyone just yet? I want to tell Kyle myself."

"We wouldn't dream of telling anyone without your permission," said Marica. Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Thanks. I'm not going to be—what is it?"

"In the closet," supplied Cassiopeia.

"Yes, that, but I just want to tell a few people myself before everyone knows."

"Of course," said Marica.

"Who—who is Hepzibah Vaisey seeing?" asked Dawn hesitantly.

"Tamie Harper," said Lily dully. "Apparently everyone knew but me."

"We didn't know," said Dawn.

"I'm sorry but that doesn't really make me feel any better about it," said Lily. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

"I'm headed up to my dormitory too," said Cassiopeia. "I'll walk with you."

Lily nodded and the two of them disappeared up the girls' staircase hand-in-hand.

*****BWST*****

The third of May dawned bright and sunny, but Lily did not awake in cheerful spirits. Her heart still ached at the thought of Hepzibah, and she knew that she couldn't put off breaking up with Kyle any longer. She had waited until the weekend, telling herself that it would be easier and less hectic then, but in her heart she knew that she was really just scared.

Lily pulled on a pair of beige cargo shorts and her favorite t-shirt, ran some product through her hair, and fastened matching blue studs in her ears and nose. Then she took a deep breath and went downstairs to find Kyle.

He was sitting on one of the couches with a couple of his friends, the sun shining on his dark hair as he threw his head back in a loud guffaw. Some girls on the other side of the room were watching him avidly.

"Kyle," she said, tapping his shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

He twisted around to look at her. "Sure, Lily. What about?"

She glanced toward the portrait hole, indicating that she would rather talk out in private.

Looking curious, Kyle followed her out into the corridor.

"Lily, what's up?" he said once they were alone. "You look nervous."

"I am nervous," said Lily, deciding that honesty was the best course of action. "I have something to tell you and I'm not quite sure of the best way to go about saying it."

"Lily," said Kyle slowly, "you're not...breaking up with me, are you?"

"Yes," said Lily regretfully. "Yes, I am."

"But...but why, Lily?" asked Kyle. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no, no, you're wonderful," said Lily. "This isn't about you at all. I know it sounds really cliché to say 'it's not you, it's me,' but it's true. Being your girlfriend has been really fun, and I love spending time with you, but to keep dating you...it wouldn't be fair, to anyone, especially you."

"Not fair?" said Kyle. "How so? Lily, I _like_ you."

"I know," said Lily. "And I like you, but not in the way I'm supposed to. I swear I didn't realize this when I started dating you, and I never meant to lead you on. But the fact is...I _can't_ like you in that way. You or any other guy."

"Lily, I'm not sure I understand."

"I can't like you that way because I don't like guys that way. Any guys. I like girls. I'm a lesbian, Kyle."

Kyle looked as though he'd been slapped. "Wh-what?"

"Kyle, I'm really, really sorry. I swear I didn't realize it until a few days ago."

"Hepzibah..." he said slowly. "That's why you wanted to know more about her."

"No. Well, yes, but I didn't know it at the time," said Lily, trying to ignore the pain thinking about the other girl caused. "And I didn't know about her either. Her and Tamie." Here her voice shook slightly, but she kept going. "That's what you meant when you said you weren't her type, wasn't it?"

"Yes," said Kyle in a strange-sounding voice. "That's what I meant. But Lily, Hepzibah's taken, you obviously know that now, so why—"

"Because Kyle, the fact that Hepzibah is the girl I like right now is beside the point." It hurt to say those words, but they were true. "The point is that it's girls I like. I've never had a crush on a guy; I was never even interested in guys really. I just...I thought I would be eventually, but it didn't work that way. I'm interested in girls. And I'm pretty sure it's exclusive."

"I understand," said Kyle, voice still sounding odd. "Thank you for telling me."

"I hope we can still be friends," Lily ventured. "I really _did_ enjoy the time I spent with you. Just not...not the way a girlfriend should."

Kyle smiled at her. It was a strained smile, but it was a smile. "I'd be honored to be your friend, Lily."

Lily smiled back at him in relief. "Thank you for understanding. I never meant to hurt you."

"I'm tough," said Kyle, with a hint of his cocky grin. "It'll take more than finding out my girlfriend's a lesbian to break me." He became serious again. "People are going to ask why we broke up."

"I know," said Lily. "And I'll tell them the truth. You should too. But can you wait until I get a chance tell my family?"

Kyle nodded. "Of course." He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "It was nice dating you, Lily Potter. I'm sure one day you will make some girl very happy."


	26. Chapter 26: Coming Out

**Author's Note: This chapter is very long. It just kind of...had a lot to say. I hope that's okay with you. I'm thinking it probably is ;)**

**Warning for language in this chapter. It's T so I shouldn't' have to say it, but I will anyway.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I didn't create Harry Potter. Jo did. Wow, amazing.**

**Chapter 26: Coming Out**

Lily came back into the common room and walked straight into Rose.

"Ooof!" said Rose, her large pile of books spilling out of her arms. "Lily?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Rose, I wasn't looking where I was going." Lily bent down and picked up Rose's books off the floor. "Where are you headed with all of those?"

"The library," said Rose. "I'm returning them."

"Can I walk with you?" asked Lily, grateful for an excuse to talk to her cousin alone.

"Sure," said Rose, surprised.

The two cousins walked to the library in silence. Rose returned her books and they headed back the way they had come.

"Is something on your mind, Lily?" asked Rose. "You're awfully quiet."

"Yes," said Lily. "Yes, something is on my mind. Rose, how do you feel about lesbians?"

Rose looked very taken aback. "Lesbians? Well...they...they're fine I suppose. As long as they don't try to come on to me or anything, or make-out in front of me. To be honest it makes me kind of uncomfortable. I don't generally think about...you know. It's not like I know any very well."

"Yes you do," said Lily quietly.

Rose looked at her in confusion. "No I don't. I barely know Harper and Vaisey."

Lily flinched at hearing Hepzibah's name. "I'm not talking about them."

"Who are you talking about then?"

"Me."

Rose stopped walking very suddenly. Lily looked at her.

"Rose? Rose, say something."

"You're—you're...but Lily, how can you be sure? You've never kissed a girl. Have you?"

Lily shook her head. "Did you need to kiss a boy before you knew you liked them?"

"Well, no... But you're going out with Kyle!"

"I broke up with him."

"You'll find another guy."

"I won't, Rose. I don't like guys that way. I like girls." She blinked, determined not to cry. "Is that really such a bad thing?"

"No," said Rose. "No, of course not," though she sounded unsure. "It's just...a lot to take in."

"Tell me about it," said Lily.

Rose smiled shakily. "I guess it's even more for you to take in, huh?"

Lily nodded.

"I just have to get used to the idea, that's all. You're still the same Lily, regardless of who you like. Just no snogging in front of me. Please."

"I don't think you have to worry about that any time soon, Rose," said Lily. "The only girl I want to snog is very much unavailable."

Rose looked like she was about it ask who it was, but then thought better of it. Shaking her head, she said, "Come on, we've been standing in this corridor long enough, it's really rather drafty."

*****BWST*****

Dawn and Marica had been casting glances at Lily all week. She knew they were trying to be inconspicuous, but they were going to blow her cover if Lily didn't come out to her other roommates soon. The decision to bring up the topic, however, was taken out of her hands.

"Lily!" Brandi had just burst into the dormitory. "Tell me it isn't true!"

"Tell you what isn't true?" said Tamzen, looking up from her magazine.

"Do you know what this foolish girl did?" asked Brandi. "She _dumped _Kyle Jordan!"

"No!"

"Well, I wouldn't really call it dumped..." said Lily.

"But you broke up with him?" said Paloma incredulously.

"Yes," said Lily

"What? _Why?_" demanded Tamzen. "Who in their right mind would give up a boyfriend like him?"

"The only other girl who's ever dumped Kyle Jordan is that Slytherin seventh year, Tamie Harper," said Brandi. "And of course now she's—wait, Lily, you don't like _girls_ do you?"

"Er—well—yes," said Lily, startled by the abruptness of the question. "How did you—?" She stopped. A very strange expression had come over Brandi's face.

"I changed in front of you!" she said, sounding horrified. "You've seen me without any clothes on!"

"Brandi, it's not like I've been _looking_ at you. I didn't even know I liked girls until less than a week ago."

Brandi did not look reassured. "I don't want to share a dorm with a lesbian, that's creepy."

"Come on, Brandi," said Tamzen. "I'm sure she's not looking at you that way. You're not, right Lily?"

Lily shook her head.

"Good. Oh, and just so we're clear, I'm only interested in boys."

"Tamzen, Brandi, I'm not going to come on to you. Have I ever come on to you? I'm still the same Lily you've known for almost 5 years. Just because I'm into girls doesn't mean I'm into _every_ girl."

"I'm into boys and I'm into every boy," muttered Tamzen.

"Yeah, well, you're a slut," said Marica conversationally.

"I think you're very brave, Lily," said Paloma, "to come out like that. My aunt is a lesbian, but she didn't come out to anyone until five years ago. She had a husband and three kids. Now she has a girlfriend and has never been happier."

They all turned to stare at her.

"I didn't know that," said Lily.

Paloma shrugged. "It's true."

"Well I still don't want you watching me dress," said Brandi. "Turn your back or something, I'm going to put on my pajamas."

Lily sighed and turned to talk to Cassiopeia, who was sitting beside her on the bed, while Brandi and Tamzen quickly changed into their nightgowns.

"Lights out," announced Marica.

"Awww!" said Dawn. "Don't be such a party-pooper."

"As a prefect—" Marica started, but she didn't get any farther, as Dawn chucked a pillow at her.

"_Still_ lights out," said Marica. "Cassie, you'd better go to your own dormitory."

Cassiopeia nodded and kissed Lily on the cheek before exiting. Marica flicked her wand at the ceiling and the lights went out.

"'Night, girls," said Dawn.

"'Night," replied the other five.

*****BWST*****

_Dear Mum, Dad, and James,_

_How are you? I miss you. Christmas was too long ago. It still feels weird not having you at Hogwarts, James. How is the internship going? Have you scheduled your Quidditch try-outs yet?_

_Okay, sorry, I'm rambling. And, as much as I love you all, that's not the real reason I'm writing. The deal is, and there is really no easy way to put this, this is my coming out letter. I'm a lesbian. Relax, Dad and James, I'm not dating anyone yet, no need to get all protective. I hope you're not too disappointed, because this is just a part of who I am. I love you all._

_-Lily_

_P.S. Please show this letter Teddy and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, and any other family members or friends you want to show it to, because I'm planning on being out and I don't want to write a letter to everyone._

*****BWST*****

Albus and Hugo were the hardest members of Lily's family to get on their own. Actually, they were pretty much impossible to get on their own, since Scorpius was always with them. Finally Lily decided that she didn't care if Scorpius was there when she came out to them, he would find out soon enough anyway.

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica arrived early for breakfast on Wednesday and waited until Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo appeared at the top of the dungeon staircase.

"Albus. Hugo," said Lily, beckoning them over.

Hugo grinned at her but Albus looked bemused. She rarely had anything to say to him at school.

"Hugie," she said, using her childhood nickname for her cousin, the one only she was ever allowed to use, and which even she hadn't used in years, "Al, I'm pretty sure, being a Potter child, even the inconspicuous one, this is going to spread through the school like wildfire, and I'd rather my brother and my cousin hear it from me rather than some gossipy Slytherin. I'm a lesbian. I'm hoping you won't have an issue with that, seeing as you're at least on decent term with Hepzibah Vaisey and Tamie Harper, but I also know Slytherins aren't known for their tolerance. Regardless, it's the truth, and if you don't like it well then I don't damn well care."

She said it firmly, with her head held high, but it was lie. She hadn't realized until that moment just how much her brother's opinion _did_ matter to her. Hugo, well, Hugo she knew she could count on, she could see it in his face right now. But Albus...she had never felt so keenly the distance that there was between her and her youngest brother.

"Lily, I know we may not be best friends or anything, but I'm your brother. I'm quite ready to kick the ass of any bastard that has a problem with you."

Lily's face broke into a grin.

"Me too, Looey" said Hugo emphatically, using his own special childhood nickname for her.

Lily grinned even wider and hugged him. "I miss you, Hughie" she whispered.

"I miss you too, Looey," said Hugo. "We'll spend the next Hogsmeade weekend together, I promise."

"What about Al & Scorpius?" she asked.

"I won't die if I'm not with them for a few hours," said Hugo.

"Wondered when you'd figure that out," Lily teased.

Hugo stuck his tongue out at her.

"This is all very touching," Scorpius drawled. "But I, for one, do not want to miss breakfast."

Cassiopeia frowned at him. _This is important to her._

Scorpius looked pointedly toward the Great Hall, where the rest of the school was busy eating. _And breakfast is important to me._

_You could be a bit more sympathetic._

_I _am_ sympathetic. I'm also hungry!_

"No, Scorpius is right," said Lily, surprising everyone, not the least herself. "We're missing breakfast. Come on, Cassie. 'Bye Hugo, 'bye Albus."

"See ya, Lily."

*****BWST*****

As Lily had predicted, her status as youngest resident Potter, compounded with the fact that she had recently been dating Kyle Jordan, made the school a lot more interested in her coming out than they might have otherwise been.

Most of the attention was shocked but more-or-less neutral, but there was the occasional nasty remark. Some of Kyle's jilted admirers especially seemed to make her their target.

"You little hoe! How dare you lead a nice guy like Kyle on like that?"

This kind of remark was simply laughable, since Lily very much doubted that Kyle was the type to let himself be "led-on" by anybody. But some of the other remarks were more hurtful, though Lily tried her best not to let them get to her.

"Fag."

"Creep."

"It's just unnatural."

"Don't get to close to her, she might make you a lesbian."

"Nasty little cunt, fouling herself up by touching other girls like that."

"I've never touched _anyone_ like that," protested Lily.

"Come on, Lily," said Cassiopeia. "Ignore them, they're not worth it."

"It's not a disease," said Lily, gritting her teeth in anger and humiliation.

"I know, love," said Cassiopeia soothingly. "They're hurting themselves more than they're hurting you."

"How do you figure that?" said Lily indignantly.

"Because they're depriving themselves of getting to know you," said Cassiopeia with a smile. "Who cares what they think anyway? They're just a bunch of flobberworms."

"Cassie!" said Lily, laughing.

"What?" said Cassiopeia innocently.

*****BWST*****

_Dearest Lily,_

_We're sorry that it took us so long to get back to you. Honestly, we didn't know what to say. This isn't what we would have chosen for our little girl. We won't say that we didn't have fantasies about you bringing home some handsome young man and getting married and having children, but obviously that wasn't meant to be. We wanted to tell you that, while we wish things were different, mostly because we do not want you to have to face the prejudice that some people will show, and also for some of our own selfish reasons, we are behind you one hundred percent. Most everyone else says the same. Some are having a harder time accepting the news than others, particularly your grandmother and aunt Fleur, but we all love you, no matter whom you decide to be with, and we look forward to you bringing home some beautiful young woman sometime in the future._

_Love, Mum and Dad_

Lily folded up the letter with a damp-eyed smile.

"What did they say?" asked Cassiopeia.

Lily handed her the letter.

"You're lucky," said Cassiopeia. "Did you know Tamie's parents disowned her?"

"What?" said Lily, shocked.

Cassiopeia nodded. "When she came out as bi they kicked her out of the house. She's been living with different friends during the summers since her third year."

Lily suddenly felt a lot less hostility toward the older girl.

"That's awful. Her own parents?"

Cassiopeia nodded again. "They wrote her out of their will and everything. Some people really like to cling to the old ways, especially old Slytherin families. She was an only child, but they had another after they disowned her. I don't know if the second girl even knows about her older sister."

"That's terrible!" said Lily. "She doesn't even get to see her own sister? How do you know all this?"

"My mother was friends with Judith Harper while she was at school. She was Judith Avrey then. They drifted apart though before they left Hogwarts, Avrey was too much into the whole Death Eater scene. And Miles Harper was the reserve Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team when my father was Seeker. And my mother loves gossip."

When Lily looked dumbstruck at this amount of information Cassiopeia shrugged.

"I listen."

"Do people know you hear so much?"

"Of course not," said Cassiopeia. "Did you?"

*****BWST*****

Lily was woken on her birthday by Cassiopeia tapping her on the shoulder.

"Everyone's downstairs waiting for you, Lily, they sent me up here to get you."

Lily blinked sleepily. "Can't a girl sleep in on her own birthday?"

"It's already ten o'clock, silly," said Cassiopeia. "Everyone wants to give you their presents."

"Alright, alright," said Lily, throwing off the blankets. "I'm getting up."

Lily pulled on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, laced up her trainers, and ran some product through her hair.

"There, you happy?"

"If you are," said Cassiopeia. "Now come on!"

Lily came. Dawn, Marica, Rose, Louis, and Paloma were waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. Brandi and Tamzen, who had been a bit distant with her since she had come out, were absent.

"It's about time!" said Rose "We thought you'd never get up!"

"Sorry," said Lily.

"Don't apologize, it's your birthday!" said Louis, sweeping her into a big hug. She hugged him back.

"Open your presents, already," said Dawn.

Lily did, and she was very satisfied with the result. Afterward, they all decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a stroll around the grounds.

Lily turned her face up toward the sun. "I don't care what you say, Cassie, sun is the best kind of weather. And spring in the best season. Not too hot, not too cold..." She inhaled deeply.

Louis copied her, and got a fit of sneezes for his trouble.

"I have to adbit spring isn't by favorite season," he said when he could speak again.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I wonder why? If you had any sense you'd be inside right now."

"Oh, we established long ago that I haven't got any sense," he said flippantly. The effect was somewhat ruined, however, by his starting to cough.

Marica, who was walking text to him, patted him on the back. "Weren't you supposed to have acquired _some_ level of sense when you became an adult?"

Both he and Lily burst out laughing.

"Obviously—" said Lily through her giggles, "You—haven't—met—very—many—adult—Weasleys."

"Hey, hey Marica!"

They all turned. Clark was beckoning from the front steps.

Louis scowled. "Can't he see we're in the biddle of something?"

"We're not really," said Lily. "We're just taking a walk."

"We're celebrating your a-a-atchoo! Atchoo! birthday. Atchoo!"

"Lily, _do_ you mind if I go with him?" said Marica.

"Not at all," said Lily. "Go ahead."

"Thanks Lils." Marica patted Louis on the shoulder. "Feel better Louis."

"Oh, sure, do't bide be," said Louis. "I'll just stad here ad sdeeze ad cough byself to death."

"Don't be so grumpy, Louis," said Lily, putting an arm around his waist. "It isn't like you."

He smiled ruefully at her. "You're right, it's dot. I guess I'b just tired."

"I'll bet," said Lily, looking up into his reddened eyes.

"I'b fide," said Louis. "Relax, it's your birthday."

*****BWST*****

The end of the year was approaching, and for the fifth years this meant one thing: OWLs

Saturday afternoon found Lily, Marica, and Rose, who was taking her NEWTs this year, on the couches underneath the open windows in the Gryffindor common room, frantically flipping through notes and looking things up in textbooks. Dawn, claiming that all this studying was making her brain hurt, had gone outside to enjoy the beautiful day with Zakai who, being a foreign exchange student, didn't have to take the exams. Cassiopeia was leaning out of the open window, the gentle breeze swirling her fine, blond locks around her head like a halo.

Marica checked her watch. "I promised Clark I'd study with him at three; I'd better get going if I don't want to be late." She began to gather up her things.

"Why aren't you studying with Scorpius, Rose?" said Cassiopeia from the window.

Rose snorted. "Studying with Al & Scorp is enough to drive anyone crazy. They do more laughing and joking than studying."

"They still get good marks, though," said Cassiopeia.

Rose scowled. "Well, bully for them."

Lily raked a hand through her by-now-disheveled short red hair. She wasn't sure yet what she wanted to do with her life, so she had to keep her options open and get as many O.W.L.s as she could; at the same time, she wasn't going to waste her energy worrying about classes that she had no interest in continuing. Astronomy was out for sure, as was Herbology. As much as she liked Neville Longbottom, she was rather hopeless with plants; somehow she always managed to kill them. Besides, privately she found them rather boring.

Lily rubbed her eyes. The numbers in her Arithmancy book were beginning to blur on the page. She groaned in frustration and felt a pair of hands touch her tense shoulders and begin to massage them.

"Relax, Lily, you'll do fine."

"What do you know?" snapped Lily. "You're only a third year."

"No need to get snappy," said Cassiopeia mildly.

"Okay, sorry," said Lily. "Can you just leave me alone right now? I'm trying to study."

Feeling slightly stung, Cassiopeia returned to the window and leaned on the sill again.

"Getting snapped at by my lovely cousins?" said Louis, coming up beside her. "You shouldn't take it personally. It's the Weasley temper."

Cassiopeia smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Seeing as Lily is indisposed, I'll temporarily take her place and tell you that the last place you should be right now is at this open window in front of that lovely blooming maple tree."

Louis sneezed, shrugged, and sneezed again.

"Where're Dawn and Marica?"

"With their boyfriends, where else?" said Cassiopeia.

"Where else indeed," said Louis, sounding just a little annoyed.

"Excuse me? Cassiopeia?" Bryan Carmichael was standing behind her, snowflake the tabby cat cradled in his arms. "If you're not too busy studying for your own exams, would you mind helping me and Aaron?"

"Aaron and me," Cassiopeia corrected automatically. "And I'd love to. This is Louis Weasley, by the way. Louis, this is Bryan Carmichael."

Bryan smiled shyly. "Hi."

"Please to meet you," said Louis. "I'm going to go take another allergy potion and then find a lovely girl to flirt with. The work of a teenage heart-throb never ends."

"'Bye Louis," said Cassiopeia, shaking her head in amusement. "Alright, Bryan, what is it you and Aaron need help with?"

*****BWST*****

Lily heard the dormitory door open and looked up from her bed. "I thought you might not come tonight, after the way I snapped at you earlier."

Cassiopeia shrugged and shut the door behind her. "I always come up here and hang out with you before I go to bed. Where's everyone else?"

"Not here yet," said Lily. She made room for Cassiopeia on the bed. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, I'm just really stressed."

"It's okay." Cassiopeia sat up on her knees behind Lily and gently massaged her shoulders. "You'll do fine on your OWLs, stop worrying."

Lily closed her eyes and relaxed in spite of herself. Cassiopeia always knew just how to make her feel better.

"You're right," she said. "Victoire spent more time doing her hair than paying attention in class and she still got five OWLs."

"Well, you don't have much hair to do, so I'm sure you'll get more than that."

*****BWST*****

All in all, the OWLs weren't as bad as Lily had feared. The only real difference between them and normal end-of-year exams was that they covered material from the first four years as well as the current one. Still, she, Dawn, Marica, and Hugo were very glad when they were finished.

"Those exams were too long!" said Hugo, shaking his head so that his hair, which he wore shaggy and on the long side in the style he had copied from Albus and Scorpius, flew around his head like a mane.

"At least now we have Hogsmeade to look forward to tomorrow," said Cassiopeia.

Hugo nodded enthusiastically. "And I'm going to spend the entire day with my favoritist cousin in the entire world."

Lily cocked an eyebrow at him. "More favoritist than Al?"

"We-ell..." said Hugo. "You're tied."

"I think I can deal with that," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

The next day promised to be a hot one even before the sun was fully up. By the time Lily, Cassiopeia, and Hugo entered Hogsmeade, the temperature had risen above 27 (81ish).

"It should be illegal to be this hot," said Hugo, leaning against the side of a building.

"I know a way to cool you off," said Lily mischievously. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. _"Aguamenti!"_

"Hey!" spluttered Hugo, now dripping wet. "I'll get you for that!"

The three of them chased each other down the street, spraying each other with water and not really paying attention to where they were going. Lily turned to shoot a stream of water over her shoulder at Cassiopeia and slammed right into someone, knocking them to the ground.

"Oops, sorry," said Lily, looking down at a very disgruntled-looking Louis.

"Gee—atchoo! thanks," said Louis, standing up and brushing himself off. A face full of pollen is—atchoo! exactly the way I wanted to start my day."

"Sorry, Louis," said Lily again. "I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

"That much is obvious," said Louis. He ruffled her hair. "And yes, I'm fine. Go on and have fun, it's a beautiful day."

"Hmph," said Hugo. "It's too hot."

*****BWST*****

About midday the three of them headed into the Three Broomsticks to meet Dawn, Zakai, Marica, and Clark. As soon as they entered Lily's heart tightened. Hepzibah Vaisey and Tamie Harper were sitting in one of the front booths.

Lily started past them, determinedly not looking their way, but Hepzibah said, "Hello Lily."

Lily flinched. "Hi."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Lily swallowed. "Uhhh...sure..."

Hepzibah stood up and beckoned her into a corner of the pub.

"How are you?"

"Good," said Lily, and it wasn't really a lie. _Why couldn't she have talked to me _before_ I realized I liked her?_ She thought. _And before I realized I couldn't have her._

"Congratulations on coming out," said Hepzibah. "I know it's not easy."

Lily nodded mutely.

"Let me tell you a story," said the older girl. "I came out back in my fourth year. Before that I had always been kind of awkward and shy, the odd-girl-out."

Lily tried to imagine the self-assured Hepzibah as awkward and shy. It wasn't easy.

"I didn't really fit any label, so the other Slytherins didn't know what to do with me. Right around the time I turned fifteen I decided that I didn't _want_ to fit any label, so I stopped letting my differentness make me awkward and started letting it make me me.

"Right around the time I first started to acknowledge to myself that I liked girls there was this one girl in the year above me, her name was Lisbeth Corner. She was a Ravenclaw, very sure of herself, very outgoing. Quite popular, but not in the cookie-cutter, just-like-everyone else way. I fell hard for her. She was my first crush. Unfortunately, she was straight and had a steady boyfriend who happened to be the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. I admired her and pined for her from afar for a year. Then another girl asked me out. I was so taken aback that I turned her down. I was in love with Lisbeth! I couldn't go out with anyone else. A week later, the same girl asked me out again. This time I said yes. I dated her for three months, and sometime in the middle of those three months I realized that I wasn't in love with Lisbeth anymore; in fact, I didn't think I ever really had been to begin with.

"Infatuation isn't love, and your first crush won't be your only one. There are a lot of girls out there looking for someone just like you, so don't limit your options because you're waiting for the perfect one. You'll never find her if you don't try some exploring, and she might just be the last person you'd expect."

Hepzibah leaned over and gave Lily a gentle, chaste peck on the lips. "Now go show Hogwarts what you're made of, lion cub."

**AN: That took me a while and a good bit of effort to write, but I hope it was worth it. I meant it to cover all the way until they get out of school, but it just got too long, so the very end of the year is at the beginning of the next chapter. **

**If you haven't reviewed yet it's not too late! And if you have been, no reason to stop now!**

**-SQ**


	27. Chapter 27: James's Quidditch

**Author's Note: This is one of the few BWST chapters I managed to write in one sitting :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (does anyone else feel like a broken record when they write this?)**

**Chapter Twenty Seven: James's Quidditch**

Lily returned to the castle in a very strange mood. Her lips tingled where Hepzibah had kissed her, and she wished the kiss had been longer so she could compare it with kissing Kyle. Somehow she felt it wouldn't be at all the same.

Lily mulled over Hepzibah's story in her head. The message was clear, Hepzibah had been gently dismissing her 'infatuation' as she had called it, and telling her to find someone else. She had just been rejected by the girl she had fallen head over heals for, she should be crushed. In a way she was, and yet... What Hepzibah had said made a lot of sense.

"I _like_ her, there's no doubt about that," said Lily to Cassiopeia. "But _love_?" She shook her head; her red hair had grown out just enough to fly around as she did so. "I mean, I'm sixteen for Merlin's sake."

"Plenty of people fall in love at sixteen," said Cassiopeia. "Or think they do."

Lily shook her head again." I know they do. My parents did. But not me. I'm not ready for that. I'm still adjusting to knowing I _like_ girls, I'm certainly not ready to fall in _love _with one. And, really, I don't know Hepzibah well enough to be in love with her. It's not like it would work out even if she wasn't already taken," she added morosely. "Hepzibah's graduating."

Cassiopeia nodded sympathetically.

Lily dashed away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "There's nothing I can do about it anyway. I'll get over her...eventually." _I hope_, she added silently.

Cassiopeia put a comforting arm around her friend and the two Gryffindors continued into the Great Hall for dinner.

*****BWST*****

Another year at Hogwarts done, another set of goodbyes to say, some temporary, some permanent. Rose, Albus, and Scorpius were all among the students saying goodbye to Hogwarts for good this year. Rose had decided that she wanted to come back to Hogwarts as a teacher in a few years after taking some more advanced classes offered by the Ministry, Albus was going to pursue a career as an Auror, and Scorpius had an internship lined up with the Ministry of Magic.

Lily was currently packing her bags with the help of Cassiopeia, who had finished packing before everyone else had even woken up.

"Lily," said Cassiopeia. "I believe you've left your Charms book under your bed."

"Oh," said Lily, bending down to retrieve the book. "Thanks."

"I can't find my shoes!" Dawn complained loudly.

"Check under your pillow," said Marica.

"Why in Merlin's name would my shoes be under my pillow?" said Dawn.

"Just check," said Marica.

"Alright," said Dawn, lifting her pillow "but they're not going to be—oh, here they are."

Marica, Lily, and Cassiopeia all rolled their eyes.

"Are you all packed?" said Rose, poking her head into the room. "It's time to go."

"One minute," said Lily, leaning on her trunk to close it; Cassiopeia flicked the latches shut. "Ready."

The girls trooped downstairs for a hurried breakfast and then boarded the Hogwarts Express. As they and Clark and Zakai were settling into their compartment, Lily heard someone call her name.

"Lily! Hey, Lily!"

She looked out of the compartment window and saw River waving at her. She motioned for him to come in.

"River!" she said delightedly. "I haven't talked to you in forever! How are you?"

He hugged her and she hugged him back.

"I'm pretty good," said River. "It has been far too long, hasn't it? He lowered his voice. Er—this isn't the only reason I came to say hi to you, but I thought you should know that there are some girls in Ravenclaw who were talking about you."

Lily looked at him curiously. "Oh? What were they saying?"

River looked uncomfortable. "Well—er—they were saying—er—that you're—er—a lesbian."

"Well, I am," said Lily simply.

River opened and closed his mouth several times without making any sound. Finally he said, "Huh?"

Lil shifted uncomfortably. "That's the reason I broke up with Kyle Jordan, I realized that I just didn't like boys in that way."

"And I had a crush on you..." said River.

"I didn't know then," said Lily weakly.

There was an awkward silence.

"Er—how are you and Rebeca?" said Lily, more to break the tension than anything else.

"We broke up," said River.

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," said River. "It wasn't meant to be."

"You weren't...you weren't coming here to ask me to go out with you again, were you?" asked Lily.

"What? Oh no!" said River. "No, I mean, nothing against you, but I don't see you that way anymore and—"

Lily laughed. "Relax. I'm glad. I think we've established that I've never seen you that way."

River grinned in relief. "So...you really like girls, huh?"

Lily nodded.

"So do you have a girlfriend or what?"

Lily shook her head.

"A _crush_ on anyone?" River teased.

Lily blushed.

"You _do_ have a crush on someone! Who is it?"

"Hepzibah Vaisey," mumbled Lily.

River looked surprised. "That Slytherin seventh year who's going out with Tamie Harper?"

Lily nodded. "But River, please don't tell anyone. I mean, I think Hepzibah knows, but it's not like it matters anyway, she's graduating and—"

"Hush," said River. "I won't tell anyone. I'm not that mean."

Lily smiled. "Want to sit with us?"

"Sure," said River. "Why not."

*****BWST*****

The Hogwarts Express was nearing King's Cross Station when Zakai, who had been sitting with his arm around Dawn, pulled her to her feet. The other occupants watched them curiously as he led her to the opposite corner of the compartment. They spoke in voices too low for anyone else to hear. But for someone who could read lips like Cassiopeia their conversation was easy enough to follow.

"Dawn," said Zakai, whose English had improved remarkably over the course of the year. "Thank you for being such a good friend and girlfriend during my living here at Hogwarts. It makes me very sad, but in a couple days I am to be going back to Greece, and that is a very long distance away from here. It would not make sense for us to try to be dating when we are living so apart."

Dawn shook her head, her messy blond/brown hair flopping everywhere. "We could still write letters. I could come visit you, we could make it work—"

"No," said Zakai firmly. "It would not work. You know it would not."

This time Dawn nodded, but there were tears in her eyes.

"May I have a goodbye kiss?" asked Zakai.

Dawn nodded and Zakai leaned in to kiss her gently.

"You will still write, yes, my friend?"

"O-Of c-course," said Dawn.

"I am sorry I must leave," said Zakai.

"Me t-too."

They returned, red-eyed and quiet, just as the train was pulling into the station. Lily looked at Dawn questioningly and then, when she got no response, turned her focus to Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia looked meaningfully between Zakai and Dawn. _They broke up._

_What? Why? How do you know?_

_It makes sense, he's leaving. And I read lips._

Marica and Clark watched this silent exchange perplexedly.

"It's a little freaky when you do that," said Marica.

Lily and Cassiopeia both shrugged, picked up their trunks, and disembarked from the train.

"Write to me!" Marica called to Clark as he and Zakai headed toward Clark's parents.

"I will!" he assured her, blowing her a kiss.

Dawn bit her lip and stared at the ground.

Marica looked at her. "He broke up with you, didn't he?" she asked.

Dawn nodded. "It m-makes s-sense," she sniffled, echoing Cassiopeia's thoughts. "G-Greece is aw-awfully f-far aw-way..."

All three of her friends gathered her into a big hug.

"We need to hang out this summer, I'll write you," promised Lily. "Maybe you'll meet the guy of your dreams."

Dawn laughed shakily. "I d-don't think I r-really want to m-meet any m-more g-guys right n-now. But I'd love to hang out with you."

"Cassie!" came Scorpius's voice. "Time to go!"

"Hold on a minute!" yelled Cassiopeia. She hugged each of her friends in turn. "As you heard, I have to go. I'm free this summer, except when I'm in France."

"Cool," said Lily. "I'll write all of you; we'll make some plans."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Marica. "See you soon!"

As Lily headed toward her family her stomach did a flip-flop; this was the first time she would see them since she had come out. They had _said _that most everyone was okay with it, but...

"How's my little girl?" said her dad, beaming down at her and giving her a quick, tight hug.

She smiled up at him. "Good."

"She's hardly a little girl anymore, Harry," said Ginny, looking her daughter over. "She's turned into a young woman."

"What?" said Harry in mock-shock. "When did that happen?"

"While you had your nose in some silly stack of Auror papers," answered his wife teasingly.

Lily laughed. "Where's James?" she asked, looking around. For some reason her parents looked slightly uncomfortable.

"He couldn't make it," said Ginny. "He said he needed to practice Quidditch."

"Did he make the reserve team, then?" said Lily.

"Yep," said Harry. "He just found out last week."

"Good for him!" said Lily.

"Yes, well," said Ginny. "Where's Albus? Oh, there you are, dear, don't run off again, it's time to go."

Lily and Albus exchanged a glance. Why were Mun and Dad acting so odd? Shrugging, they followed their parents back through the barrier and to the car.

*****BWST*****

"We're home!" announced Albus loudly as he came in through the door of number 12 Grimmauld place, followed by Lily and their parents.

No one answered.

"James you git!" hollered Albus, "get your ass in here!"

"Al," warned his father.

"It worked, didn't it?" said Albus.

Indeed it had. James, broomstick in hand, was now peering around the door frame from the back yard.

"Yes, what is it?" he said in an uncharacteristically annoyed tone. "I'm busy."

"James," said Ginny. "Surely you can take a break from practicing for long enough to greet your brother and sister."

"Hi," said James. "Bye."

"James," said Harry sternly. "You've barely been off that broomstick all week. Tonight we're sitting down as a family. Go put it away."

Scowling, James complied.

"Who put a Billywig in his trousers?" asked Albus, watching his brother leave the room. "Hey Mum, what's for dinner? I'm starved."

*****BWST*****

Dinner that night was tuna casserole, one of Lily's favorites, but she found it rather difficult to enjoy. James, whom she had always thought of as her nice, friendly, easygoing brother—well, compared to Albus at least—was markedly cold and distant, almost surly. Though this seemed to be his attitude in general, Lily couldn't help feeling that it was particularly directed at her. But what reason did James have to be angry with her?

After Lily had helped her mother wash and put away the dishes, she went upstairs and knocked on James's door.

"James?"

"Piss off."

"James, what in Merlin's name is the matter with you?"

"Nothing."

"Obviously something is—"

The door was thrown open. "Nothing is the matter with _me_," said James harshly. "You'd do better to ask what's the matter with _you_."

"What?"

James rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. "Did you ever consider how the rest of us would feel when you decided to become a girl-puff?"

Lily gaped at him. "Decided?"she said incredulously. "_Decided?_ I didn't _decide_ to be a lesbian, James. It isn't a choice like—like picking what shirt you're going to wear in the morning. It's a part of who I _am_."

James looked at her disbelievingly. "And so you just had to go around announcing it to the world. With no regard for the rest of us."

"I didn't go around 'announcing it to the world'," said Lily. "And last time I checked, this wasn't about _you_, it was about _me_."

"Like hell it isn't about me," said James. "You know why it took so long for me to get my acceptance letter for the reserve team? Because some bloke found out that my sister's a bloody lesbian and tried to get my acceptance revoked!"

Lily stared at him. "I'm sorry, James, that's dung, but it's not my fault."

"You're the bloody lesbian! I don't see why you can't just like blokes like a normal girl!"

"It's not a _choice_, James!" Lily yelled at the slamming door.

Fuming and in tears, Lily ran to her own room and threw herself down on the bed. _My own brother likes Quidditch more than me_, she thought. _My own _brother_! _

Then, _I wish Cassie were here..._

*****BWST*****

Lily's mother came up to her room sometime later and knocked on the door.

"Lily-love, can I come it?"

"Yeah," said Lily listlessly.

Ginny came into the room bearing a loaded laundry basket.

"I did your laundry."

"Thanks," said Lily without looking.

Ginny put the basket down and sat on the bed beside Lily.

"James doesn't really mean what he says," she said, stroking her daughter's hair. "He's just upset. Some people have been giving him a hard time."

"And you think they haven't been giving _me_ a hard time?" said Lily.

"I know they have, darling," said Ginny soothingly. "I know."

"No, Mum, you really don't," said Lily, not unkindly. "You can't."

"You're right, maybe I can't," conceded Ginny. "But I'm trying."

"You don't think it's a choice, do you, Mum?" asked Lily.

"No, Lily," said Ginny. "Why would anyone choose something that caused them so much pain?"

Lily nodded and ducked her head, unable to keep the tears from falling. "There's a girl in Slytherin. Her parents disowned her after she came out."

"That's terrible," said Ginny. "We love you no matter what, that's a parent's job."

Lily wiped her eyes. "I'm not really friends with Brandi and Tamzen anymore since I came out," she said.

"I'm sorry you had to lose your friends."

Lily shrugged. "It's okay. It's not about how many friends you have; it's how good of friends they are. I learned that from Cassie."

"She sounds like a very good friend," said Ginny.

"She is," agreed Lily. "The best."

*****BWST*****

It was uncomfortable to say the least, living with James over the next couple of weeks. Of course, he managed to be out of the house as much as possible, so he and Lily didn't run into each other much. She missed him, but she wasn't about to waste her energy trying to talk to him when he was so obviously hostile to her.

_So what if it _was_ a choice?_ she thought furiously as she watched him stalk across the front lawn, carrying his broom. _It would be _my_ choice, and he should support it._

Luckily, most of the rest of Lily's family was supportive, whether they viewed her sexuality as a choice or no.

Teddy, who had always been to Lily like another older brother, was a godsend, telling her that he thought it was fantastic that she liked girls and offering to introduce her to several he knew who might be interested in her. Victoire too supported her, though she seemed strangely preoccupied. Lily could tell that her sexuality made Dominique uncomfortable, but she maintained that it was "Lily's choice or—or not choice or—or whatever" and none of her business. Victoire, Dominique, and Louis's mother, Lily's aunt Fleur, and Lily's grandmother were the only other people who expressed actual negative opinions.

"Girls should like boys and boys should like girls, zat is the way of things," said Aunt Fleur in a whisper to Ginny when she thought that Lily couldn't hear. "I do not understand how a girl can like ozer girls. It is unnatural."

Ginny, who had never been overly fond of Fleur in the first place, retorted, "My daughter is as natural as either of yours. She likes girls, so what? I'd rather her like nice girls than the brainless guys _your_ daughter seems to be attracted to!"

Lily couldn't help but smirk at this jab at Domi's boyfriends.

As for Lily's grandmother, she just kept trying to change Lily's mind.

"Are you _sure_ it is girls you like? Maybe you just haven't found the right boy. After all, you are only sixteen; there is still plenty of time."

"No, grandma," said Lily firmly. "I know that I like girls, and only girls."

Molly Weasley shook her head. "So sad, so sad, such a waste..."

"I don't think the other girls who swing her way would say so," said Lily's grandfather with a wink, making her blush.

*****BWST*****

Lily made good on her promise to write to Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica, and the four girls agreed to get together for the day about three weeks into the summer. They were all going to meet at Lily's house and then walk down to Burbank Corner and then maybe hang out at the park or in the Muggle part of town.

Lily was very surprised when, as she was getting ready to go, the fireplace flared and Dawn stepped out.

"_Dawn?"_ she said, looking at her friend. "Since when are you early?"

Dawn shrugged. "I had nothing else to do, so I came over. Am I too early?"

"No," said Lily, "but no one else is here and I'm not ready. You've been here enough times before, make yourself at home."

Lily went up to her room to grab a few more things. When she came back downstairs fifteen minutes later, it was to find Dawn sitting on the living room couch talking to James, who looked more relaxed than she had seen him since she got home from school.

"It's really neat that you got on the reserve team," Dawn was saying. "I'm so happy for you, it sounds amazing."

"It is," said James. "I have to practice all the time, of course. They barely let me on."

"Really?" said Dawn. "But you're so good! The Gryffindor team's not nearly as good since you left. I mean, Wood is a really good captain, but you were amazing."

James laughed. "Well thank you. I'm glad you thought I was good. You're a really good player too, you know."

"Really?" said Dawn, sounding very pleased. "You think so?"

"I know so," said James. "I _was_ your team captain for three years."

Dawn grinned. "True."

"How was the team last year?" asked James.

"We did well. We _almost_ won the Cup, but stupid Slytherin won it instead."

"Hmph," said James. "I suppose it's not _too_ surprising. Quidditch prowess _does_ run in our family."

"It obviously skipped Lily," said Dawn, laughing.

James only glowered. "Yeah, well, a lot of things skipped Lily apparently."

The fireplace flared and Marica stepped out.

"I've got to go practice," said James. "It was nice talking to you, though, Dawn." He smiled at her. "See you around."

"You sure you don't want to come with us, James?" said Dawn.

James shook his head. "Too busy. Thanks for inviting me though."

"Bye, James."

"What was that about?" said Marica.

"Just catching up on Quidditch stuff," said Dawn as Lily came into the room.

"I thought James wasn't talking to anyone," said Marica. Lily had told her friends about James's reaction to Lily coming out.

"No, he's just not talking to me, or about me, or with me in the room," she said, giving Dawn a pointed look. "And right now the feeling is mutual."

Dawn had the grace to look slightly ashamed. "He just came in and we started chatting," she said defensively.

Lily shrugged. "Whatever. I don't have time for him. As soon as Cassie gets here—"

The fireplace flared again.

"We can go," finished Cassiopeia, stepping out and brushing off her knee-length pale blue sun dress. Lily was struck again by how lovely the petite blond girl was.

She grinned and wrapped her smaller friend in a hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," said Cassiopeia. "How are you?"

"Okay," said Lily, sighing. "Coping. Things could be a lot worse, right? Come on, let's go have some fun!"

**AN: And now Lily's 5****th**** year is officially over! I know a couple of you wanted more Cassiopeia, but I just wasn't able to fit that into this chapter. We will actually follow her on her trip to France this summer, so then you'll get a big chunk of time with just her. What did you think of this chapter? Some necessary stuff happened. Obviously the biggest thing in the chapter was James's reaction. Reviews are always welcome, I'd love to hear your thoughts :)**

**-SQ**


	28. Chapter 28: Helen and Camille

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoy the chapter. You don't see Cassie 'till near the end, but I promise she's there!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: In case you missed it the first 27 times, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me.**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Helen and Camille**

Despite her tough attitude, Lily was not coping with James's rejection as well as she would have liked her friends to think. The truth was that, while she and James had never been _close_ per say, the way she was with Louis and Teddy, she had always known she could count on her big brother to be there for her if she needed him. The loss of that connection hurt more than anything else she had had to deal with because of coming out. She wished she could hate him, that would make it so much easier, but, thought she was furious, she couldn't bring herself to hate her brother. He was her _brother_ for Merlin's sake. Lily cried herself to sleep more nights than not that summer.

Still, life went on, and Lily tried her very best to enjoy it. Teddy made good on his promise to take her out and introduce her to some girls that he knew.

"You look after her," said Ginny anxiously as she and Teddy prepared to Floo to Diagon Alley to meet up with some of Teddy's friends. Ginny wouldn't let Lily side-along Apparate with him. "I don't want any older girls taking advantage of her."

"I wouldn't let that happen, Ginny," said Teddy, picking up the fire poker he had just knocked over.

"I know you wouldn't Teddy," said Ginny, looking at her godson fondly. "It's a mother's job to worry. Have fun you two. Be home in time for dinner. Teddy, are you staying?"

"I'm afraid not, Ginny," said Teddy. "Victoire's been a little emotional lately, so I'd better be home this evening."

And with that, Lily and Teddy stepped into the fireplace and shouted in unison, "Diagon Alley!"

Coming into the room, Harry shuddered. "I can never hear that without thinking of my first experience with Floo Powder."

Ginny laughed. "Come on, Mr. Knockturn Alley. Don't you have work to do?"

*****BWST*****

"Lily, this is Allissa Nickerson. Allissa, this is my godsister Lily."

Allissa, a tall girl with tan skin and wavy chestnut hair smiled down at her. "Lily? Lily Potter? It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended a manicured hand, which Lily took.

The girl, who Lily found out was nineteen and studying to be a lawyer, was very pretty, but she didn't strike anything in Lily. She, Allissa, Teddy, and a few other twenty-somethings spent an enjoyable day strolling about Diagon Alley, and the two girls parted ways as friendly acquaintances.

"What did you think?" asked Teddy once Allissa had left.

"She was nice enough," said Lily. "I liked her fine but there was no..."

"Chemistry?" suggested Teddy.

"Huh?" said Lily.

"A branch of Muggle science," explained Teddy.

"What does this have to do with Muggle science?" said Lily, confused.

"Nothing, nevermind, it's an expression," said Teddy, shaking his head and laughing.

*****BWST*****

The first thing Lily heard as she stepped out of her own fireplace was James's voice.

"Mum! I'm going to be out for dinner!"

"You should have told me earlier," Ginny scolded, coming out of the kitchen with a scowl on her face. "Where are you going anyway?"

"He's got a _date_," said Albus from the chair where he was sitting.

"With Analise?" asked Ginny.

"No," said James. "Analise and I broke up." His tone dared anyone to ask any questions. Wisely, no one did.

"Alright James," said Ginny with a sigh. "Have fun."

There was a _pop_ as James Disapparated.

Ginny shook her head sadly. "Harry, I certainly never thought I'd say this about James, but right now he reminds me of Percy. When, you know—"

Lily glowered at the spot her brother had recently been standing not knowing, or caring, how James could possibly remind anyone of Uncle Percy.

*****BWST*****

Lily was still up when James returned late that night. She was sitting by the dying fire, writing a letter to Cassiopeia, when the embers suddenly flared and two people stumbled out onto the hearth. Hidden as she was in shadow, the two new arrivals at first did not notice Lily.

"Ow," said James, he sounded tipsy. "Careful. My mum will have a fit if we get ash all over the new carpet."

The person with him, a girl, giggled. "I should really get home, James," she said. "My mum thinks I'm out with some of my Muggle friends."

Lily started. She knew that voice.

"_Dawn?"_

Both James and Dawn jumped, sending a shower of ash onto the new carpet.

"Lily? What are you doing hiding there? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"What am _I_ doing?" said Lily. "What are _you_ doing! Did you...did you just go on a date with _James_?"

"So what if I did?" said Dawn defiantly. "I can date whomever I please."

"You've been drinking," said Lily, aghast. "James, what have you done to her?"

"I haven't _done_ anything to her," said James. "In spite of you might think, she _wanted_ to go out with me."

"Dawn's one of my best friends!"

"And she's my girlfriend now," said James. "So butt out."

Lily's next comment, _'You're my brother'_ went unspoken.

*****BWST*****

"How could you date him, knowing what he's done to me?"

Lily and Dawn were standing in the middle on the Potter kitchen, having a splendid row.

"I can date him because I like him! We have a lot in common!"

"Oh yeah, what? Quidditch?"

"Not just Quidditch!" said Dawn. "We like a lot of the same things, and he's fun and kind and—"

"I can't believe you!" said Lily. "You're just on the rebound from Zakai! And he's on the rebound from Analise! He's using you, Dawn!"

"You're just bitter," retorted Dawn.

"I think I have a right to be bitter!" yelled Lily. "Since he's basically disowned me for being a lesbian!"

"I don't see what that has to do with my relationship with him!"

"You're supposed to be my friend!"

"And I am! Or I would be if you weren't yelling at me!"

"I could tell your mother, you know she wouldn't approve! Drinking and—and going out late to clubs..."

"You wouldn't," said Dawn.

Lily ground her teeth. Dawn was right, she wouldn't, but right now she wished she had it in her.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Albus, Harry, and Ginny were having dinner when Teddy and Victoire suddenly Apparated into the kitchen doorway. Or, more precisely, Victoire Apparated neatly in the doorway, while Teddy Apparated into the back of Harry's chair, nearly knocking Harry out of it, and sending the salt cellar flying as he caught himself on the table.

Harry looked bemusedly up at his godson. "Something got you excited, Teddy? You seem even more hapless than usual."

Teddy blushed, but the goofy grin adorning his face didn't fade. He scanned the room.

"Where's James?" he asked. "I wanted James to be here."

"He's out with Dawn," said Ginny.

Teddy's face fell slightly.

"Teddy," said Victoire, "we will just have to tell 'im later."

Teddy nodded, grin back in place.

"Tell us what?" said Albus impatiently.

Teddy was actually bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "Victoire's pregnant, I'm going to be a father!"

The room erupted with excitement and congratulations. Everybody was hugging and kissing and talking at once.

"Teddy, that's wonderful!" said Harry, beaming at his godson.

Teddy beamed back. "I'm so excited. And so nervous! Harry, I don't know the first thing about being a father!"

Harry chuckled. "Neither does anyone until they have the experience. You'll be fine. At least you're not saddled with a baby godson at the age of seventeen."

Teddy laughed. "Thank Merlin for my grandmother, huh?"

"Thank Merlin for Andromeda indeed," said Harry fervently.

"When is the baby due?" Ginny asked Victoire.

"At ze end of April," said Victoire, unable to suppress a wide smile.

Lily came up and hugged Teddy from behind, making him jump.

"I'm so happy for you," said Lily, her problems with James and Dawn the farthest thing from her mind at the moment.

Teddy ruffled her hair. "Don't think this means I won't still have time for my favorite little godsister."

Lily giggled. "I'm your _only_ little godsister," she pointed out.

"All the more reason for you to be my favorite," said Teddy.

*****BWST*****

Lily was once again out with Teddy to meet some of his friends, one friend in particular.

They were not going to Diagon Alley this time, but rather to a Muggle neighborhood. Teddy strode in front of Lily up the drive of a medium-sized house and knocked on the door with the brass knocker. A few seconds later the door was opened by a very pretty half- Asian girl with long black hair and a turned-up nose.

"Teddy!" she said delightedly, clapping her hands.

"I hope we're not intruding," said Teddy.

"Not at all," said the girl, stepping back to allow them inside. "And who is this?"

"This is my godsister, Lily. Lily, this is Kelley Truong.

"Pleased to meet you," said the bubbly, petite young woman.

"Pleased to meet you too," said Lily sincerely, watching Kelley's graceful movements appreciatively.

Teddy saw her and laughed. "Kelley, as delighted as I am to see you, there is actually a purpose to this call."

"Oh?" said Kelley, pausing in the act of grabbing a box of cookies off the shelf. She pouted prettily.

"I thought I might introduce Lily to your sister," said Teddy, raising a meaningful eyebrow.

Lily's heart fell. It wasn't this bright, bubbly girl who might be interested in her, but rather her unknown sister.

Kelley eyed Lily. "Aha..." Her mouth quirked in a smile. "Let me get her."

She went to the foot of a staircase and shouted up in a voice that seemed too big for her little body, "Helen! We have company!"

There were a few seconds of silence, then the sound of feet coming down the stairs. Another girl appeared, one who was an exact replica of Kelley. Teddy laughed at the expression on Lily's face.

"Lily, this is Helen. Kelley's identical twin sister."

Helen smiled mischievously. "Well hello, aren't you pretty? Your name's Lily? That's a pretty name." She pulled up a stood and sat down, motioning for Lily to do the same. "Tell me Teddy, before I get my hopes up, does she swing my way?"

"Wholly and completely," said Teddy with a smile. "But be gentle with her, mind, she's my only little godsister."

"I'm always gentle," said Helen. "How old are you, Lily?"

"Sixteen," said Lily.

"Does it bother you that I'm nearly twenty-one?" asked Helen

"Sort of," Lily admitted.

"That's understandable," said Helen. "You have good sense. Just so you know, I'm not looking to get into your pants, as adorable as they are. Am I right to assume that you just recently came out?"

Lily nodded.

"How is it in your world? Being a lesbian I mean."

Lily was confused. "My world?"

Helen laughed. "Oh, right, sorry. I'm a Muggle. Kelley over there's the only freaky witch in the family." Kelley stuck her tongue out at her twin. "So, how does the magical world react?"

Lily shrugged. "Well, I really have nothing to compare it too, but most people are generally alright with it. There are some who aren't but...I suppose that's life."

"It's about the same in the Muggle world," said Helen with a nod. She tapped Lily's silver bracelet. "Nice bracelet," she said, changing the subject abruptly.

Lily blinked. "Oh—thanks. My best friend made it for me."

"She has talent," said Helen. "And good taste."

*****BWST*****

Teddy took Lily to see Helen several more times over the next couple weeks. While he caught up with Kelley and the girls' older brother Jason, whom he'd known for several years, Lily spent time with Helen. She found that she liked the older girl. A lot. It wasn't the desperate infatuation she had felt for Hepzibah Vaisey, but she enjoyed Helen's company, and got a pleasant tingly feeling whenever their contact became a bit more intimate than was strictly necessary.

It was during one of the these times, when Helen was showing Lily the pressure points along her neck, back, and shoulders that could be used for either pleasure or pain that she casually asked, "So, Lily, have you ever been kissed?"

Lily blushed. "Well, yes...but it was by a boy. I don't know if that counts."

"Definitely not," said Helen, turning the redhead to face her. "That pretty little mouth of yours was never meant for silly boys. When you find a girl you want to be with, it's going to help if you know how to use it properly. Tilt your chin up." Lily obeyed, the pleasant tingling in her veins growing stronger. "There, now when you feel my lips touch yours part them a little, and follow my lead."

What followed was an instruction course in kissing. The best word Lily could find for it was fun. Both she and Helen knew that there was never going to be anything serious between them, that really they were just friends, and that left them free to play to their heart's content. Nothing serious, not much more than kissing, but Lily emerged at the end of the summer a lot more experienced in the ways of romancing a woman than she had at the beginning.

*****BWST*****

France was really a beautiful place, thought Cassiopeia as she leaned on the balcony railing of the villa and looked out over the twilit city. She had never looked on France with the foreign wonder of a tourist, but she appreciated her time here nonetheless; even more in a way, since a tourist could never feel truly at home in a place.

As they had every year since before either of the children could remember, the Malfoy family was spending the first three weeks of August in France. More specifically, they were spending them in their villa in Tours, the largest city in the central region of France and home to some of the best wines in the world.

Cassiopeia, Scorpius, and Astoria were all fluent in French and Draco's handle on the language, while not quite as fluent as his wife and children's, was more than adequate. The Malfoy parents spent most of their time in France going to fancy parties and meeting with very rich acquaintances. Ever since Scorpius had reached the age where he was old enough to watch his little sister he and Cassiopeia had been left to amuse themselves while their parents were out, unless the event happened to be a dinner that the younger Malfoys were allowed to attend. They did not mind this very much, as they found the extravagant affairs of their parents rather boring, and much preferred exploring the streets of Tours, frequenting the areas that tourists rarely got to go. Scorpius also enjoyed making eyes at the local French girls, a pastime which now earned him a stiff jab in the side from Cassiopeia.

"You have a girlfriend," she admonished.

"I've had girlfriends in the past," said Scorpius.

"Rose is different and you know it," said Cassiopeia. "And the last thing you need is an excuse for Ron Weasley to go all protective father on you."

Scorpius cringed. Ron Weasley, the father of his girlfriend, did not have the highest opinion of him, to say the least.

"Point taken, Cassie," he said.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia and Scorpius, naturally, had friends in Tours whom they saw every year. Or, rather, Scorpius had friends. Cassiopeia had never had any friends until she had gone to Hogwarts and met Lily Potter. Not that she had minded over-much; she was almost debilitatingly shy around people she didn't know. But Cassiopeia generally went with Scorpius when he went out with his French friends, either that or stayed in the house. She might have loved Tours, but it was far too big a place for her to feel comfortable navigating on her own, even if she had had the layout of the city perfectly memorized since she was seven.

Their closest friends were the Aucoins. There were three children in the Aucoin family. Christophe was two years older than Scorpius, Donatien was one year younger, and Adelaide was one year younger than that, making her just a year older than Cassiopeia. Scorpius and the three Aucoins delighted in getting into all sorts of mischief while Cassiopeia looked on, often serving as the scout and alerting them to any approaching _autorité_.

Today, Cassiopeia, Scorpius, Christophe, Donatien, and Adelaide were strolling down the main street of the town, window shopping and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their day before the grand _Boule de Été_ that evening.

"We could go to the park and put soap in the fountain," suggested Donatien.

Christophe, Scorpius, Adelaide, and even Cassiopeia gave him whithering looks. He was the least inventive of the group.

"That is a child's trick," scoffed Adelaide with all the dignity of her fifteen years.

"All pranks are child's tricks," proclaimed Christophe, who had recently been taking his role as an adult annoying seriously.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" shot Donatien.

"_I,"_ said Scorpius, interrupting before Christophe could speak again, "suggest that we do indeed go to the park. Perhaps we can bamboozle the vendors into giving us a discount again."

That settled, the five of them proceeded to the park, where they did succeed in bamboozling the vendor nearly to tears, and then sat around enjoying the sunshine until it was time to get ready for the evening's festivities.

*****BWST*****

Everyone in the Malfoy and Aucoin families looked stunning that night. Astoria Malfoy was dressed in a gown of deep burgundy while her husband sported a suit of black and silver silk. Mr. and Mrs. Aucoin wore matching outfits of deep blue, while both of their sons were dressed in a lighter shade of the same color with yellow-accents. Adelaide looked like a princess in a dress of buttercup yellow, with her mahogany tresses coiled expertly around her head. Scorpius was handsomely clad in a suit of deep purple and lilac. It was Cassiopeia, however, who took the cake. Her gown was pale pink, bordered with tiny flowers in yellow and burgundy, complete with dark green leaves and stems. The gathered waist showed off her slim figure perfectly, and her waist-length tresses hung loose, woven with pink and burgundy flowers. On her feet was a pair of soft pink slippers, and pink gems winked at her throat and ears.

Two emotions warred within Cassiopeia as she descended the staircase and felt the eyes following her: her usual crippling shyness, and pride in her appearance.

Adelaide Aucoine, who was entering beside her, smiled at her.

"You look even more stunning than I do tonight, Cassiopeia," she said, a high compliment coming from the French girl. "All the young men will be wanting to dance with you."

Cassiopeia blushed, but was saved by her brother.

"Cassie's too young to be dancing with any young men," he said firmly, guiding her over to the corner by refreshments table where most of the children usually congregated.

Cassiopeia glanced around and was suddenly struck by the fact that she was the oldest person occupying this particular corner.

"Scorpius," she said. "I'm not a child anymore. I don't think I really belong—" But he was already too far off to hear her, being flirted with by some simpering French girl with no taste in, well, really anything.

Cassiopeia sighed and poured herself a glass of wine, relishing the sharp, bittersweet taste of the fermented beverage.

She suddenly felt eyes on her and looked up.

A boy of about her own age was looking down at her from under a mop of untidy brown hair.

"Mademoiselle, would you care to dance?"

Cassiopeia's first reaction was to shake her head, but then she stopped herself. Why not? Just this once. She did feel pretty silly standing here in this corner, sipping wine surrounded by a bunch of ten-year-olds. And she'd known how to waltz since she was six, and had only ever done it with her brother. A part of her knew that was pretty pathetic. She nodded shyly.

It was only one dance, but Cassiopeia felt she could die of strain by the end of it. Not that she hadn't enjoyed the dancing, she had, but she simply wasn't used to socializing, and the boy had insisted on chatting the entire time. Which, she reflected, seeing as she had barely responded to his attempts at conversation, was probably the reason she was once again standing in the corner with the ten-year-olds.

Another girl came up beside her and poured herself a glass of the same wine Cassiopeia was sipping.

"Is it good?" she asked

Cassiopeia nodded.

The girl took a sip. "You're right, it is good."

There was a moment of silence. "My name is Camille, what's yours?"

"Cassiopeia."

"Oh hide me!" said Camille suddenly, ducking behind Cassiopeia. "Don't let them see me!"

Several boys approached Cassiopeia.

"Have you seen a girl around?" said the boy.

"I've seen many girls," said Cassiopeia. "You'll have to be more specific than that." _I can't believe I actually managed to say that out loud_ she thought. _It must be the wine._

"She's wearing a green dress and has the face of an angel," said one of the boys. "You couldn't miss her."

Cassiopeia shook her head mutely, internally laughing at this description, and the boys hurried away, casting their heads about for a sign of Camille.

"Thanks," said Camille, coming out from behind Cassiopeia and the table. She tapped her fingernails against her wineglass. "I came over here to escape all the boys who are hounding me. They're enough to make me swear off boys forever."

Cassiopeia sneaked a peak at the other girl through her lashes. Camille had soft golden ringlets framing a round face with full lips and bright cheeks. Her eyes were dark blue and her nose was small. She looked to be about sixteen and really was extraordinarily pretty. She spared a glare in the direction of several more boys who appeared to be looking for something, probably her.

Camille suddenly got a crafty smile on her face. "I know what would make those annoying imbeciles leave me alone." She turned to face Cassiopeia, setting her wine goblet on the table and tossing her hair in a very ostentatious gesture. "Are they looking at me?" she asked.

Cassiopeia glanced over at the boys. "Yes, they've just seen you."

"Good," said Camille and she leaned over and pressed her plump lips firmly against Cassiopeia's.

Camille left her lips there for a good five seconds. They tasted of wine and lipgloss and anise and cinnamon and something else sweet and sugary.

Camille pulled away, her golden ringlets swinging, a satisfied smile on her face.

"Let them chew on _that_," she said, and flounced away, throwing a finger wave to Cassiopeia over her shoulder.

_Well_, thought Cassiopeia, noting the stunned looks on the boys' faces, _that was very...interesting_.

**AN: And what did you think of **_**that**_**? I told you we'd get to follow Cassie to France. That's the longest pure Cassie part up to this point, and it was actually rather difficult, since Cassie is a bit strange to write. Still, I think it turned out pretty well. I also accidentally created a character that intrigued me mightily. That's not the last you'll be seeing of Camille.**

**Oh, while they're in France they're all speaking in French, but I'm not about to write almost ½ the chapter in French.**

**By the way, the 1****st**** question? Not rhetorical, I really do what to know what you thought!**

**-SQ**


	29. Chapter 29: Getting Out of the House

**Author's Note: This isn't my favorite chapter, but then again, the end of summer/beginning of the new year chapters rarely are. Transition chapters, necessary but not particularly exciting. I hope you like this year though, some interesting stuff will definitely be happening.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Cassiopeia Malfoy belongs to me (or I belong to her...) and so do my other OCs, but virtually everything else belongs to Jo, hence the reason you've seen it in her books.**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Getting Out of the House**

School was nearly back in session. One more week of summer and then it would back aboard the Hogwarts Express for another year of magical learning. Truth be told, Lily was ready for school to start back up again; she missed the castle and her friends and even her classes, and living with James was beginning to become unbearable, even though he spent most of his time either out of the house, snogging Dawn, or in his room, snogging Dawn. Lily, for her part, spent a good deal of her time at Kelley and Helen's house.

"Are you looking forward to school starting again, Lily?" Helen asked as she pushed a glass of lemonade across the countertop toward her.

"Thanks," said Lily, taking a sip of the ice-cold drink. "Yeah, I am looking forward to it actually. I love summer, but I'm ready to go back to Hogwarts."

"I can imagine," said Helen, patting her lap. Lily accepted the invitation and sat down, an arm around the older girl's neck for balance. "From what Kelley's told me it sounds like a fabulous place."

"It is", agreed Lily, shifting her weight so that she could cup her free hand around Helen's left breast. "It's not just a school; it's like a second home. And there's always something to do and something to learn."

Helen adjusted Lily's grip, coaching her fingers. "That's what Kelley said. I always thought it was unfair, how come she got to be the magical twin? Ah well," she sighed exaggeratedly. "At least I'm the good looking one, right?"

Lily laughed.

"You're getting good at this," said Helen. "How long are you staying today?"

Lily shrugged. "My mum says I have to be home for dinner, but other than that, whenever."

"You've been spending an awful lot of time here lately," said Helen. "Can you just not resist my womanly wiles, or is something going on at home?"

Lily fidgeted. "It's nothing really, just some stuff with my brother."

"What kind of stuff?"

"He doesn't approve of my 'choice' to be a lesbian," said Lily. "He hasn't spoken more than a dozen words to me all summer."

"Well fuck him," said Helen. "If he wants to be a judgmental jackass then he can go fuck himself."

Lily slid off Helen's lap. "Don't talk about my brother that way."

Helen looked up at Lily in surprise. "Doesn't sound like he's being much of a brother."

"He's still my brother," said Lily. In truth, she had no idea why she was defending James, because he _was_ being a judgmental jackass, but he was still her big brother, and she didn't like to hear someone else talking about him that way.

"Lily, there are going to be people like that, and some of them are going to be the people who were close to us, some of them are going to be our family. You just have to cut your losses and move on. If your brother's being a shit-faced bastard then—"

"This is between me and James," said Lily, her voice shaking. "You don't know anything about it!"

"Lily," said Helen, rising from her stool. "Calm down, I didn't mean to offend you—"

"Well you did offend me. You don't know James, you've never even met him! He almost didn't get on the Reserve Team because of me."

"That's not your fault, Lily," said Helen gently. "And no excuse for him to act like a bloody git."

"He's my _brother_," said Lily.

"I know, love," said Helen, putting a hand on Lily's shoulder.

Lily shrugged off the hand. "No, you don't know. Thanks for having me, but I have to go now."

She grabbed her jacket and headed toward the door.

Kelley stuck her head around the living-room doorway. "Lily? Where are you going? What about dinner? I'm making lasagna."

"Sorry," said Lily. "I have to go."

As she shut the door behind her she heard Kelley march into the kitchen.

"Helen, what did you do?"

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia's bemused musings lasted all of thirty seconds before Scorpius descended upon her.

"Cassie! Who was that girl? What did she do to you? Did she hurt you? I'll kill her!"

"Scorp, calm down," said Cassiopeia, laying a hand on her brother's arm. "She didn't hurt me. She only kissed me."

"_What?"_

Okay, wrong thing to say.

"Relax, Scorp!" said Cassiopeia, grabbing his arm to keep him from tearing after Camille. "She didn't mean anything by it; she just wanted to throw some boys who wouldn't leave her alone for a loop."

"She used you!"

"Scorpius! I didn't mind. It was...interesting."

Scorpius looked his sister up and down. "You are a bloody weird kid, you know that?" he said finally.

Cassiopeia gave her brother a classic Malfoy smirk. "I know."

*****BWST*****

James helped himself to a fourth helping of potatoes at dinner.

"I'm moving out," he announced casually.

"_What?"_

The rest of the Potter family looked at him in shock.

James looked nonplussed. "I'm moving out. I found an apartment."

"How are you paying for it?" asked Ginny.

"I'm rooming with some of the other guys on the reserve team. We're splitting the rent four ways."

"Where is this apartment?" asked Harry.

"In London," said James with a shrug. "Closer to practices."

"James, you prat," said Albus. "What does it matter how close you are to practices? You can just Apparate! What do you want to move out for?"

"I just want my own place," said James. "I am nineteen. I need my own life."

"James," said Ginny, "won't you reconsider? Moving out is a big step."

"I can't reconsider," said James. "I already committed to my share of the rent. "Besides, I _want_ to go. This house is too small for everyone living in it."

Lily stared at her plate, a lump rising in her throat. She knew the real reason why James was leaving, and it didn't have anything to do with the house being too small.

"James, we support your independence," said Harry, "and we're proud of you, but know you'll always have a home here at Grimmauld Place."

"Thanks, Dad," said James, standing up. "I'd better go pack my things." He left the table and disappeared up the staircase.

"Mum, Dad, may I please be excused?" said Lily

"You haven't finished your ham," said Ginny, frowning.

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Alright, you may be excused."

*****BWST*****

Diagon Alley was full to the brim with Hogwarts students doing their back to school shopping. The Weasley-Potter clan was currently heading toward Flourish and Blotts, where Lily, Hugo, and Louis would be getting their new course books and where they, Rose, and Albus, who had decided to come along for the day, would be meeting up with Cassiopeia and Scorpius Malfoy.

Rose and Albus stepped through the door first and immediately stopped, causing Lily and Hugo to crash into them.

"What?" said Lily, peering over their shoulders to see what the hold-up was. "Why did you—oh. Uh oh."

Cassiopeia and Scorpius were waiting for them near one of the front shelves. Behind them stood a petite brown-haired woman with Cassiopeia's heart-shaped face and a blond man with a receding hairline who looked like Scorpius aged up about forty years. Cassiopeia and Scorpius's parents, Draco and Astoria Malfoy.

By now the adults had seen each other.

"Potter," said Draco, inclining his head in acknowledgement. "Weasley," he added, without the respectful head nod.

"Draco," responded Harry, returning the nod.

Rose glanced nervously at her father. In spite of the fact that Albus and Scorpius had been best friends for seven years, their families had only come together a handful of times. None of them had been particularly friendly, especially when Ron was involved. And this was the first time Ron and Draco had seen each other since finding out that their children were dating.

"Malfoy," said Ron in a strained-sounding voice.

The two men eyed each other for a few seconds. Harry broke the silence.

"You are doing well, I trust, Draco?"

Draco turned his attention back to Harry. "Yes, as well as can be expected. And you?"

"Likewise," said Harry. He attempted a smile. "How was your trip to France?"

Draco raised a thin, pale eyebrow fractionally. "It was very nice," he replied. "Thank you for asking."

Astoria stepped forward. "Hello Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, it is good to see you again. Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, I don't believe we have ever been formally introduced, a rather large oversight on my part I am afraid. I am Astoria Malfoy."

Hermione smiled and extended her hand. "Hermione Weasley."

Astoria's eyes glinted mischievously. "I do believe my son is dating your daughter."

"So I've heard," said Hermione, laughter coloring her own voice.

"He is treating her well, I trust?"

"Like the perfect gentleman."

At this, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Albus, and Cassiopeia all snorted. Scorpius may have been many things, but a perfect gentleman was not one of them.

"And what about you, Weasley?" said Draco to Ron. "Do you approve of my son?"

Everyone stiffened.

"Draco..." said Astoria, laying a hand on her husband's arm.

"No," said Hermione. "It's a valid question."

Ron looked from Draco to Scorpius to Rose and then back to Draco. "Yes," he said finally. "Although I still don't like the idea of my daughter dating a Malfoy, I guess I'll just have to get used to it, because it doesn't seem like either of us have very much choice in the matter. And, as impossible as it seems, you have raised your son well, Malfoy."

Scorpius smiled, putting an arm around Rose. "Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"Hey, Al," said Hugo, "let's leave these two love birds here and head over to Wheezes. There's that new combo pack out and it'll be all sold out if we're late."

"Oh no you don't!" said Scorpius as Hugo and Albus took off in the direction of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. "You'll be very sorry if I don't get one of those combo packs!"

Rose rolled her eyes and took off after the boys. "Scorpius! You stop this instant and wait for me!"

Both Ron and Draco chuckled.

"An interesting match," said Draco as Scorpius slowed down to allow Rose to catch up and she cuffed him soundly on the ear.

"Indeed," agreed Ron.

The two men looked at each other for a moment, realizing that they had just actually agreed on something. Then something about their stances relaxed.

"I wish we could stay, but Astoria and I have business to attend to," said Draco. "Cassiopeia, you will be alright?"

"Yes, Father," said Cassiopeia. _I am fourteen, and this is Diagon Alley, not France. _She and Lily shared a smile.

"Very well," said Draco. "It was...nice to see you all. Have a good day."

"Goodbye," said Astoria less formally but more warmly. "See you soon."

And the two Malfoys turned on the spot and Disapparated.

"That went...a lot better than I had expected," said Lily to Cassiopeia.

"Me too," said Cassiopeia.

"Hmph," said Louis. "I was hoping for a bit of drama."

"Drama queen," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "Come on, we ought to get our course books."

*****BWST*****

Later that afternoon Lily, Cassiopeia, and Louis emerged from Fortescue's Ice Cream parlor, licking their triple scoop ice cream cones, to find Dawn and Marica on their way in.

"Hello, Dawn, hello Marica" said Cassiopeia cheerfully.

Louis's head snapped up. "Hi," he said, offering the approaching girls an elaborate bow, made awkward by his towering ice cream cone.

"Hi," responded Dawn and Marica, the latter reaching out an arm to steady a wobbling Louis.

"Those look good," she said, pointing to the ice cream cones.

"They are," agreed Louis, languidly licking a drip of strawberry ice cream from the side of his cone and winking at her.

Marica colored and smacked Louis on the arm.

Louis looked wounded. "What did I do?" he said with faux-innocence.

Dawn was looking at Lily's own cone, practically drooling.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked her rather coldly. "I thought you were with _James_."

"We split up," said Dawn. "With him going off to the reserve team and me coming back to Hogwarts—Well, we kinda knew from the beginning that it could only be a summer thing. Look, Lily, I'm really sorry. I know it was a shitty time for me to hook up with your brother. You know I'm not the best at thinking things through; I just didn't see how it had anything to do with you fighting with him, which of course it did, and—"

"Forget it," said Lily.

"Lily, I really—"

"I said forget it," said Lily. "I don't want to talk about James. I don't want to _think_ about James. It's too painful."

All three of her friends and her cousin hugged her nearly knocking her ice cream out of her hand. She hugged them back.

"Now I think it's time for me and Marica to get some ice cream," said Dawn once she had pulled away.

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica laughed.

"Of course," said Lily. "No ice cream parlor is safe from the sweet tooth of Dawn Hartly, Captain of the sweet-eating team!"

"Dawn Hartly, captain of the _Quidditch _team," said Marica.

"What?"

Dawn beamed. "Yep. I'm Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year. Didn't I tell you?"

"No!" said Lily. "Congratulations!"

"This year we're totally gonna put Slytherin back in their place, especially now that Al's gone," said Dawn.

"Don't relax just yet," said Louis. "I happen to know who the new Slytherin team captain is."

"Who?"

"Hugo."

Dawn groaned, but her smile quickly returned. "Well, that will make our victory that much sweeter, won't it?"

"That's the spirit," said Louis.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Hugo, Dawn, and Marica all stayed at the Leaky Cauldron that night with their parents and woke up early the next morning to finish packing before going to King's Cross Station. Marica was especially excited because it was the first time she would see Clark in over a month.

"Do you see him?" said Marica as soon as they passed through the barrier to platform 9 ¾.

"No," said Lily.

"Neither can I," said Dawn. "Don't worry, you'll find him on the train."

"Bye, Lily," said her father, giving her a hug. She hugged him back. "Bye, Dad. I'll see you at Christmas."

Lily's mother kissed her cheek. "Have fun, dear, remember to write."

"I always do, Mum, it's Albus who'd always forget."

Ginny laughed. "Very true. Hurry now, the train'll be leaving soon."

Lily waved one last time to her parents and then she, Dawn, Marica, and Hugo boarded the train to find Cassiopeia and a compartment.

"What OWLs did you get, Lily?" asked Dawn once they were situated. "I got Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies, but I think I'm going to drop Muggle Studies and Potions."

"Drop Potions?" said Lily, scandalized.

"Hey not everyone's a Potions nut," said Dawn.

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Lily sniffily. "I got Potions, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. But I don't think I'll be continuing with Muggle Studies, I barely learned anything in that class that I didn't know already from my dad and Aunt Hermione. I'm also dropping Defense. I know it's important, but I just haven't got the stomach for all that stuff. Besides, everyone always expects me to be as good as Al and my dad. What about you Marica?"

"Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Artithmancy, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and History of Magic."

"Wow," said Dawn.

"No Care of Magical Creatures?" teased Lily.

"No Herbology?" shot back Marica.

"Point taken. Are you dropping any?"

"Yes, actually," said Marica. "I passed History of Magic, but that class is dreadfully dull."

"Good, you're not _quite_ as psychotic as Rose," said Lily. "She kept it."

Lily was very happy with her OWL scores. She had only gotten an A on her History of Magic exam, a P on her Astronomy one, and a D on Herbology, but that hadn't surprised her, especially since she hadn't studied for the last two. She had gotten Os on Potions, Charms, and Muggle Studies and Es on Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Artithmancy, and had even managed to scrape one in Defense Against the Dark Arts, though she still wouldn't be continuing with the class. She still didn't know what she wanted to do, but she figured that her NEWT classes left her with plenty of options.

Marica and Hugo left for the prefects' meeting and patrols and the others began to share stories of their summers.

"Anything interesting happen in France, Cassie?" asked Lily.

"It was mostly the same as always," said Cassiopeia. "Enjoyable of course, but nothing particularly new. Oh," she said, remembering. "I did meet a girl named Camille. I didn't talk to her for long though. She was trying to avoid some suitors, so she kissed me to make them leave her alone."

Lily and Dawn gaped at her.

Cassiopeia giggled at their expressions. "Really, you and Scorpius make such a big deal out of it."

"It is a big deal!" said Dawn. "You got your first kiss!"

"And it was from a girl," added Lily.

Cassiopeia shook her head. "She didn't mean it like that, so it doesn't really count, does it? What did you do this summer, Lily?"

Hugo slid back into his seat grinning slyly. "Well, she spent an awful lot of time at Helen Truong's house..."

Lily backhanded her cousin. "Shut it!"

"Who's Helen Troung?" asked Dawn.

"She's one of Teddy's friends," said Lily. "She's a Muggle, but her twin sister is a witch."

"Are you dating her?" asked Cassiopeia curiously.

"Merlin, no!" said Lily. "She's nearly twenty-one! We were just having some fun."

"She was teaching Lily the 'arts of love'." said Hugo, smirking in a very Slytherin fashion.

Lily groaned. "_Must_ you be so crass, Hugo? You spend too much time with Malfoy."

"And you don't?" said Hugo, looking at Cassiopeia.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Touché."

"What did you do with her?" said Dawn.

"Nothing more than you did with James!" said Lily. "Wait—you _didn't_ do anything more with James, did you?"

"No!" said Dawn, looking appalled. "No way!"

"Good," said Lily, looking relived.

"Hugo, where's Marica?" asked Cassiopeia.

Hugo shrugged. "Last I saw her she was leaving the prefects' meeting with Clark Fleet."

"Ah," said Lily. "Well, it might be a while before we see her again then."

*****BWST*****

Lily was right, they didn't see Marica again until they sat down at the Gryffindor table for the feast. Immediately Lily and Cassiopeia could tell that something was wrong. Marica's black, kinky hair was disheveled and her eyes were red and brimming with unshed tears.

"Marica?" said Lily. "Do you need to talk?"

"After the feast," she said in a hoarse whisper.

Lily and Cassiopeia had a very hard time paying attention to and enjoying the feast with Marica sitting across from them, barely touching her food and looking like she was about to cry. As soon as the students were dismissed, Lily grabbed Dawn and she and Cassiopeia steered her and Marica into a nearby classroom.

"What's wrong?" said Dawn, looking from Lily and Cassiopeia to Marica. "Marica?"

"Clark broke up with me," she said chokingly, a few tears escaping the corners of her eyes to run down her cheeks.

"What? Why?"

"He said—he said he met someone else over the summer."

"I'm so sorry," said Lily.

Dawn wrapped her arms around Marica and Cassiopeia laid a small hand on her arm.

"I thought—I thought everything would be the same again once we came back this year, but he said—he said he just didn't feel that way about me anymore—and he had met someone else— But I still feel that way about _him_!" Several more tears escaped and Cassiopeia handed Marica her handkerchief.

"Thanks."

"It'll be okay," said Lily. "I know it hurts, believe me, I know. What can we do?"

"I don't know," said Marica miserably. "There isn't anything you can do. I can't believe it—he was the one who asked me out first, and then he dumped me!"

"I'm going to go give that git a piece of my mind!" said Dawn.

"N-no," said Marica. "No, it's n-not his fault he found s-someone else. He was s-so gracious about it..."

"At least he didn't cheat on you, and least he told you the truth about there being someone else," said Cassiopeia consolingly.

"And you're a hundred times better than whoever she is," added Dawn. "He doesn't know what he's throwing away."

Marica smiled shakily. "Thanks. We'd better get up to Gryffindor Tower before we're caught out after hours."

**AN: High School drama...oh dear. Glad that's over for me, now I just create it for my characters, lol. **

**Thanks for reading, and for reviewing if you do ;)**

**-SQ**


	30. Chapter 30: Hot Pink Butterflies

**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter Thirty: Hot Pink Butterflies**

Now that Lily had gotten over the initial shock and confusion of figuring out that she was a lesbian, and now that Hepzibah Vaisey was no longer there to monopolize her attentions, Lily found herself noticing girls. Not that she hadn't noticed them before, but now she could appreciate a pretty girl in an entirely different way. Now, as Cassiopeia had pointed out, if she wanted to she could have a girlfriend.

"But how in the world would I go about that, Cassie?" Lily asked her best friend as her fingers deftly braided Cassiopeia's long blond hair.

"Well, I haven't much experience in that area," said Cassiopeia. "But generally one finds someone they like and then asks them out."

Lily rolled her eyes and tugged Cassiopeia half-completed braid. "I can't ask just any girl. First of all, I don't like 'just any girl', and second of all, 'just any girl' isn't likely to be gay. What if I asked out a straight girl?"

"Then she'd say no," said Cassiopeia, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "Just as she would if you asked a lesbian girl who wasn't interested, or a straight guy who wasn't interested, for that matter."

Lily shook her head. "I wish it were that easy, I really do, but I have enough girls giving me a wide berth so they don't 'catch the gay'. I'd rather not add fuel to the flames. Besides," she added. "There's no one here I'm interested enough in to risk it."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Then I guess you'll just have to wait for someone to ask you out. That road can be an awfully long one, though, and you can't be sure of whom you'll end up with at the end of it."

Lily completed Cassiopeia's braid and tied the end of it with a red ribbon. "That's alright," she said, "as long as I have a wonderful friend to travel it with me."

"Naturally," said Cassiopeia, flashing Lily a smile so dazzling that the room seemed to grow darker after she left it.

*****BWST*****

September was, all in all, an uneventful month. Classes had started up again, much the same as, but harder than, the year before. Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Louis were endeavoring to keep Marica's spirits up after Clark had dumped her. Louis seemed particularly miffed at the Hufflepuff.

"What a jerk," he said, glaring toward the Hufflepuff table as the five of them entered the Great Hall together. "The novelty wore off, did it? He found some new little toy, did he? I always knew you were too good for that git, Marica."

"Lay off him, Louis," said Marica. "It's not his fault."

"It is his fault if he prefers some little slut to you. Is he blind?"

"Louis, _please_."

"What, do you still like him or something?" asked Louis aggressively.

"A little, but that has nothing to do with it. Go prove you machismo to someone else, okay!"

Louis looked uncharacteristically abashed. "Marica... I'm sorry. That was...uncalled for." He patted her hesitantly on the shoulder. "I just don't like seeing you upset. Because you're...er...Lily's friend, you know?"

Marica nodded, blinking away the tears that had suddenly sprung into her eyes, and leaned into his arm.

"Hey," said Louis, "hey, don't cry. No guy's worth crying over. Well...except maybe me." Marica just cried harder. "Aw, come on, that was a joke, you're supposed to laugh." He handed her his handkerchief.

"Thanks, Louis," said Marica, wiping her eyes. "I'm fine. It's just—it's nothing. You're right, no guy's worth crying over. The soup's getting cold."

Lily and Dawn exchanged a confused look and then shrugged. How could they possibly expect to understand? Neither of them were boys, and neither of them had had recently their hearts broken by one. And Marica was right, the soup was getting cold.

*****BWST*****

Dawn decided to hold Quidditch try-outs on the first of October. The Gryffindor team was in need of a new Seeker and two new Beaters.

"Lily," said Cassiopeia, "are you planning on going to the Quidditch try-outs this evening?"

"No," said Lily, looking at her in surprise. "Why would I? I mean, I know Dawn's captain, but I don't really have an interest in Quidditch to be honest. Are you going?"

"Yes," said Cassiopeia. "I've decided to try out for Seeker."

"You—you have?" said Lily, blinking at her friend.

Cassiopeia nodded. "I have the build for it."

It was true; Cassiopeia's small, lithe body was perfect for the position of Seeker.

"I didn't know you were interested in playing Quidditch," said Lily.

"I used to play all the time with Scorpius during the summers," said Cassiopeia.

"Far be it from me to stop you from trying out," said Lily. "I'm sure you'll make a great Seeker. When are the try-outs again? I think I might come watch after all."

*****BWST*****

Lily watched the Beater portion of the try-outs with minimal interest. She didn't know any of the candidates well, and she just didn't find watching people whacking balls at each other with clubs very exciting. She perked up, however, when the Seeker candidates came out onto the field.

There were four of them, and Cassiopeia, while not the youngest, was certainly the slightest; she looked altogether too frail to be darting around on a broomstick.

Dawn released the Snitch and the four would-be Seekers shot into the air.

Cassiopeia took off from the ground like a rocket, the wind rippling in her long, blond hair as she shot upwards and then whipped her broom around to look back at the ground below. She grinned. Flying was such an adrenaline rush. Scorpius hadn't wanted her to fly at first, he said it was too dangerous, but she had pointed out to him that _he_ had been flying ever since he was old enough to break into the room where their father kept the family's brooms, and threatened to tell their parents that he had unless he taught her how to fly.

Cassiopeia squinted around for the telltale gleam of the Golden Snitch. Truth be told, trying out for Gryffindor Seeker had been a spur-of-the-moment whim; she had heard Dawn talking about it and though that she might as well give it a try, see if she was any good. Cassiopeia didn't have any dreams of becoming a professional Quidditch player, but she enjoyed the sport just as much as the next witch, and she was curious to see whether she could make the cut.

Lily realized that she had never seen Cassiopeia fly before, and she was good. She darted back and forth almost as quickly as the Snitch itself, and Lily found herself holding her breath as she willed her best friend to catch the fluttering golden ball before the other three fliers.

Five minutes later she did.

Cassiopeia alighted nimbly on the ground in front of Dawn and offered her the wriggling golden ball.

"So," she said, "am I on the team?"

Dawn beamed at her. "We have a Seeker!"

Lily and Marica rushed out of the stands toward Dawn and Cassiopeia.

"Congratulations, Cassie!" said Lily, gathering her friend up in a hug. "Brrr!" she added when Cassiopeia returned the hug. "Your hands are cold!"

Cassiopeia laughed her trademark bell-like laugh and shook her wind-blown hair in Lily's face. _Hmm,_ noted Lily absently_ her hair smells like jasmine._

"Hey, earth to Lily," said Cassiopeia, her light blue eyes dancing above pink cheeks. "Are we going to stand here all night or are we going inside?

"Definitely going inside," said Lily, linking arms with her best friend. "Outside is far too cold!"

*****BWST*****

Lily hurried through the corridors. Why oh why did Arithmancy have to be so far away from Care of Magical Creatures? If only Hagrid hadn't kept her and Dawn back to discuss his latest beastly acquisition. The corridors were nearly deserted, which meant that class must be about to start. At least she didn't have to worry about dodging other students.

No sooner had she had the thought than Lily crashed smack into someone else, sending them both sprawling.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" both girls said at the same time. "I wasn't looking where I was going!"

They both laughed ruefully and the other girl stood and helped Lily to her feet.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Lily. "You?"

"Fine," said the other girl. "You're Lily Potter, right? I'm Trinity Page. I'm in your year."

"Trinity," said Lily, "that's a pretty name." She blushed. "I mean, yes, I remember you. You're in Ravenclaw, right?"

Trinity nodded. "Where are you headed?"

"Arithmancy," said Lily. "But I'm going to be late now."

"I'll walk you there," said Trinity.

"Oh, no," said Lily. "You must be late for your own class."

"I have a pass from the headmaster," said Trinity, waving a hand. "It's fine. If I walk you and show this pass you won't even get in trouble. Let me take that," she added, picking up Lily's heavy bookbag.

"Why—" started Lily. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business."

"Oh I don't mind," said Trinity. "The headmaster wanted to know why I haven't been responding to my mother's letters. Apparently she's been harrying him about it."

"Oh," said Lily. "And—er—why _haven't_ you been responding to your mother's letters? If it's not too personal of a question."

"Because she asks in every single one whether I have a boyfriend yet. It is really quite annoying."

Lily laughed. "I can imagine."

The two girls had arrived at the door to the Arithmancy classroom.

"And so, class, if you are to fully comprehend the theorems of Sir Ignaltious Bernadetto, you must first have a thorough understanding of the laws of—Yes, Miss Potter?"

"Er—sorry I'm late, professor," said Lily.

"I'm afraid I held her up a minute," said Trinity, waving the purple pass with the Headmaster's signature scrawled across it.

"Very well then," said Professor Cornan. "Please sit down and I will continue with my lesson."

Trinity smiled and handed Lily her bag. "Bye then," she said.

"Bye," said Lily, wishing she had had more time to talk to the other girl. She seemed interesting and nice. Not to mention very pretty. _Mind on the lesson!_ Lily scolded herself.

*****BWST*****

Lily left the Arithmancy classroom a few days later, her mind still on the complex lesson, and once again bumped into somebody.

"I hope we don't make this a habit," said a voice. Lily looked up and saw Trinity Page smiling down at her. "Actually," said Trinity, "this meeting was a little bit more than a coincidence. I was hoping to bump into you again, though not literally. I have a question for you."

"Oh?" said Lily, wondering why the other girl hadn't simply asked her in one of their several shared classes.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Er, no," said Lily. "I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"Well, there's a full moon tonight," said Trinity. "And I've heard it's lovely when viewed from the top of the Astronomy tower."

"Why would I—oh," said Lily, color rising to her cheeks. "Oh—I mean, yes, I'd like to go with you. That is what you're implying, right?"

"That is what I'm implying," confirmed Trinity with a smile. "See you at nine in the Astronomy tower?"

"Yes," said Lily, smiling back. "See you at nine."

*****BWST*****

"Cassie," said Lily, rapping on the fourth-year girls' dormitory door. "Cassie, I need you."

After a moment the door opened and Cassiopeia's blond head appeared. "Yes?" she inquired.

"I have a date tonight," said Lily, "and I need your help deciding what to wear."

Cassiopeia's eyebrows shot up. "A date? With whom?"

"Trinity Page," said Lily. "She's a Ravenclaw in my year and she asked me out this afternoon."

Cassiopeia smiled. Lily loved that smile. "Did she now? Well, let's see what you have in the way of date outfits."

Lily and Cassiopeia went up to Lily's dormitory and began to rifle through her messy trunk. Finally Cassiopeia pulled out a pair of low-rise, dark-brown cargo pants, a light-tan t-shirt, and a pale green zip-up hoodie.

"Here," she said. "You'll look great in these."

Lily did, even she had to admit it as she admired the effect in the mirror five minutes later.

"Perfect," said Cassiopeia, smoothing the last bit of gel through Lily's red hair.

"You really think so?" said Lily, smiling at her refection.

"Por supuesto," said Cassiopeia. "Of course. You always look perfect."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sure."

Cassiopeia reached up and adjusted the zipper on the hoodie so that it opened just below Lily's breasts. Lily shivered as her friend's hands brushed the sensitive rounds.

"Don't be nervous," said Cassiopeia, misinterpreting the shiver. "You've been on dates before."

"I know," said Lily, "but this is my first one with a girl."

"Girls, boys, they're all just people, remember," said Cassiopeia. "It's your first date with Trinity, that's all." She stood on tiptoe and kissed Lily's cheek. "Go on, you don't want to be late."

Lily went, the proximity of her friend in combination with the stuffy dormitory making her feel suddenly too warm.

*****BWST*****

Trinity was waiting for her when Lily arrived at the Astronomy tower.

"Am I late?" she asked, checking her watch.

"No," said Trinity, "right on time. Nice outfit," she added, eying the curves of Lily's breasts appreciatively.

"Thanks," said Lily. "You too."

Trinity was wearing black skinny jeans with a hot pink rhinestone belt and a white t-shirt with a hot pink glittery butterfly on it. There was a clip with a matching butterfly in her wavy brown hair. The shirt was loose enough not to look skanky, but tight enough to show that Trinity's breasts were roughly the same size as Lily's, perhaps just a bit bigger.

The two girls went over to one of the windows and leaned against the sill, arms touching, gazing up at the full moon.

"It is pretty," Lily commented.

"Full moons and butterflies aren't too girly for you?" asked Trinity.

"No," said Lily, surprised. "I am a girl after all."

"I know that," said Trinity. "But you seem a bit more...butch than me."

Lily considered it. "I guess that's true. I don't really go for the girly stuff for myself. But I am attracted to girls, and many girls enjoy girly stuff. I mean, I don't want my girlfriend to take me on a date to Madame Puddifoot's..."

Trinity made a face. "We're on the same page there, don't worry. I don't know how anyone can stand that place." She turned to face Lily. "Would it sound terribly cliché to mention how the moonlight looks in your hair?"

Lily laughed. "Probably. But why don't you tell me anyway?"

"Oh dear," said Trinity, "I'm no good with words at all. It looks lovely, will that suffice?"

"I suppose it'll have to," said Lily with pretend reluctance.

Lily and Trinity stood in the Astronomy tower, casually chatting and flirting, until Lily began to shiver.

"I really don't like the cold," she explained through chattering teeth.

"Who can blame you?" said Trinity. She threw her cloak over Lily's shoulder's. "It's nearly curfew anyway. Let me walk you back to your common room."

The two girls strolled through the halls hand in hand until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Cutting it rather close, aren't you?" she admonished as Lily gave her the password.

"Better than four in the morning," said Lily cheekily.

"Who came back at four in the morning?" asked Trinity curiously.

"My maternal grandparents," said Lily, laughing.

"Hmph," snorted the Fat Lady. "And quite a dressing down I gave them too."

The two girls stared at each other for a moment.

"I think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss me goodnight," said Lily, blushing.

"I think so," agreed Trinity.

She bent her head and gave Lily a light peck on the lips. Lily responded by leaning into the kiss for a brief second.

"I had a nice evening," said Trinity. "Can I expect more where it came from?"

"I don't see why not," said Lily. Then, "I'm free on Friday night."

"It's a date."

*****BWST*****

Lily had gotten so used to Dawn having Quidditch practice more or less every other evening that she had forgotten just how much time it really took up. But she suddenly found that Cassiopeia, who had been a nearly constant presence for the last three years, was not around nearly as much as she used to be. Lily would look up from her homework, expecting the other girl to be sitting across from her, only to remember that she was at Quidditch practice. Again.

Lily rubbed her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she had come to rely on the younger girl's presence. She missed her.

_Don't be absurd,_ she told herself. _You'll see her in a couple hours. She has her own life. _Lily glanced at her watch and realized that she was supposed to be meeting Trinity in the Great Hall in ten minutes. _And so do you!_

*****BWST*****

"Yum," said Trinity, licking sugary icing off her fingers. "If I had known it was so easy to get into the kitchens I would have done it years ago."

"I have James and Albus Potter as my older brothers, and yet I didn't know until Cassie showed me in my fourth year."

"Why didn't your brothers tell you?" asked Trinity, accepting another cake from an eager house-elf.

"Apparently I never asked."

Trinity laughed. "By Cassie you mean Cassiopeia Malfoy, right?"

Lily nodded.

"A bit of a strange girl isn't she? I don't mean that in a bad way of course."

"You're right, she is rather...unique," agreed Lily. "But she's my best friend."

"I don't know her," said Trinity, "but I know her brother, everyone knows her brother, and yours too for that matter. Those Malfoys certainly have got looks."

Lily thought about it, picturing Cassiopeia's round blue eyes in her mind. "Yes, yes they do don't they..."

"Ugh," said Trinity, snapping Lily out of her thoughts, "my fingers are all sticky!"

"I think I might be able to help with that," said Lily mischievously, licking her lips.

*****BWST*****

It was Louis's last chance to throw a Hogwarts Halloween party, and he was going to make sure it was his best one ever. It was, of course, by invitation only.

Needless to say, Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica were all invited, as was Trinity, and even if she hadn't been, Louis would have given Lily permission to bring her.

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, and Paloma were currently in the sixth year Gryffindor dormitory putting the finishing touches on their outfits. Tamzen and Brandi had not been invited, much to their consternation.

Marica pinched at her black lycra body suit. "This thing feels funny," she said.

"Stop fussing," said Dawn, who was dressed in a red devil costume and held a stick of eyeliner in her hand, "you'll make me smudge your whiskers."

Cassiopeia was wearing all white from head to toe, and had decorated her clothing, skin, and hair with liberal amounts of silver glitter. Lily, who wore open robes of red and orange over a matching shirt and shorts, and sported copious amounts of glitter herself in red and gold, could not stop staring at her.

Paloma, who was dressed all in gold with a pair of white feathered wings arching over her shoulders, checked her watch. "It's time to leave. We don't want to be late."

*****BWST*****

Trinity was waiting for Lily outside the entrance to the party. She, like Paloma, was wearing wings, but hers were hot pink and black butterfly wings which matched the black leotard and hot pink ballet skirt she was wearing.

"Wow," said Lily appreciatively, noticing that her girlfriend was also sporting hot pink and black face paint in the shape of butterfly wings.

"Wow yourself," said Trinity with a grin. "Or should I say smokin'?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Trinity, this is my best friend Cassiopeia. Cassie, this is my girlfriend Trinity. "

"Yes," said Cassiopeia, "I know."

"Oh?" said Trinity, eyebrows lifting.

"There are only a handful of people at this school that know anything significant about Cassie," said Lily, "but she probably knows the entire student body's personal histories. You get used to it."

The six girls stepped through the doorway into the party. The first thing that Lily noticed was that entire room was lit with black lights, making everything white glow brilliantly. This, of course, included Cassiopeia. As she entered the room many people stopped what they were doing to follow her glowing form with their gazes.

"Cassie!" said Louis, appearing in front of them. "There was a reason I didn't tell anyone about the black lights! You've shown me up!"

It was true, though she was probably the only person at the party who had. Louis was dressed in a pure white tuxedo, his silvery hair was gelled back, and he had painted dark circles under his eyes. When he smiled white vampire fangs glittered inside his mouth.

Marica pouted. "My outfit isn't very cool under black lights."

Louis turned his gaze on her. "Nonsense. I think your outfit is wonderful."

Dawn came up behind them and shoved the two of them together. "You two, go dance!"

"Wha—?" said Marica.

"No, I don't think so—" stammered Louis.

"You _have_ to dance together," said Dawn as though explaining that one and one made two. "Louis is all white and Marica is all black. It's perfect! Dance!"

"I was thinking along the same lines," said Trinity. "About dancing, that is. Would you like to Lily?"

Lily glanced at Cassiopeia. "Cassie, you'll be alright?"

"Of course," said Cassiopeia, smiling distantly. "Dance with your girlfriend. I think I'll get myself something to drink."

Cassiopeia moved off to the refreshments table and stood there, sipping punch and admiring peoples' costumes. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"What are you supposed to be?" asked a black boy in a wolf costume. "You look like a faerie, but you haven't got any wings."

Cassiopeia shrugged. _Lily always says I look like a faerie, maybe this boy isn't so bad._

"Well, whatever you are, you're dazzling," said the boy. "And also very young. How did you snag an invite?"

"I have connections," said Cassiopeia, smiling mysteriously, her eyes still downcast.

"Can you dance?" asked the boy.

Cassiopeia shrugged again. "Perhaps."

The boy offered her his hand. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Cassiopeia looked over to where Lily was currently swaying with her arms around Trinity's waist; obviously she wasn't going to be dancing with Cassiopeia anytime soon.

"Alright," she said finally, accepting the offered hand.

The black boy wrapped his arms around her and they began to move with the rhythm of the music blaring through the room.

_Hmm_, thought Cassiopeia, _this is different than dancing with Lily. It seems that boys are rather...rougher than girls. I must keep that theory in mind..._

And then she shut down her thoughts and gave herself up to the music.

**AN: I always aim to have each chapter cover 2 months, and I usually fall just a bit short, but this time I didn't! **

**Won't 7****th**** year be sad with no more Louis parties? But you still have a few more to look forward to. **

**For any of you who don't know, black light is that kind of light that they have in lines for amusement park rides, it offers just enough light to see by but doesn't have any real brightness to it, and it makes white things glow awesomely. **

**I hope this chapter was not adversely affected by the fact that I was sick when I wrote half of it.**

**You know where the review button is...(I hope)**

**-SQ**


	31. Chapter 31: Saint Mungos

**Author's Note: This chapter only covers the month of November, and not even all of that really, though I'll mostly just skiped over the rest. Enjoy the chapter :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: It's Jo's world, I'm just playing in it.**

**Chapter Thirty-One: Saint Mungos**

The weekend before Halloween was supposed to have been a Hogsmeade weekend, but the weather had been so terrible that the staff had taken pity on the students and moved the October Hogsmeade trip to the first weekend in November.

Trinity had insisted that she didn't want to pull Lily away from her friends, so instead she was joining Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, Dawn, and Hugo as they perused the shops and strolled through the streets of Hogsmeade. There was another new addition to their group, a Ravenclaw seventh year named Jesse Verell whom Dawn had met at Louis's Halloween party and was completely infatuated with.

Marica, Hugo, Lily, and Trinity walked in a line, with Marica and Hugo on either side of the couple. Jesse and Dawn walked just ahead of them, and Cassiopeia trailed just a step behind the four, gazing pensively into space.

"Well," Jesse was saying, running a hand through his slicked-back blue-black hair. "Of course my parents are very busy, having such important jobs in the Ministry, but they do make time for us to go out on our yacht when I am home for the holidays."

"Wow..." said Dawn, who was hanging onto his every word. "That's so cool..."

"That is, of course, when we're not spending time in one of our _many_ vacation homes around the world," added Jesse flippantly, pausing to check his appearance in a shop window. "Perhaps I will take you some time."

"That would be...yeah...wow..." said Dawn staring at him avidly.

Cassiopeia was too far into her own world to hear this exchange, but Lily and Hugo exchanged an eye roll. Neither of them were particularly fond of this Jesse person and his self-absorbed stories.

Hugo, meanwhile, was attracting plenty of attention from the other students visiting Hogsmeade.

"Hugo, come to the Three Broomsticks with us!"

"Hugo, I want to show you something!"

"Hugo, do you have a minute?"

Hugo dismissed them all with a wave of his hand. "Sorry, I'm spending the day with my cousin."

"Since when did you become the king of popularity?" asked Lily, eying a group of girls who were eying Hugo.

"Since Al and Scorp graduated," said Hugo with perfect seriousness.

"Perfect," said Lily, "the new reigning king of Slytherin. Uncle Ron must be so proud."

Cassiopeia giggled at this.

Trinity raised a questioning eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh, my uncle Ron is just not a huge fan of Slytherin is all," said Lily to her girlfriend. "It's kind of a running joke in the family that Hugo got sorted into Slytherin. Uncle Ron's come to accept it though."

It was true though, about Hugo having taken Albus and Scorpius's place as the "King of Slytherin". The once awkward, gangly boy was now one of the most popular figures at Hogwarts. Lily found it rather disconcerting. Still, with Hugo's newfound self-confidence, and with the absence of Albus and Scorpius, Lily found that she suddenly had her cousin back. No, they weren't as inseparable as they had been as children—they no longer had enough in common to be like that—but they had more time to hang out than they had over the past few years. Sometimes Lily missed the Hugo of old, but then, Lily wasn't quite the Lily of old either.

Trinity shrugged and squeezed Lily's hand. Lily smiled and leaned against her girlfriend. This felt so much more right than being with Kyle ever had. Lily slid her hand up the back of Trinity's shirt and underneath the back of her bra, a trick she had learned from Helen.

Trinity yipped.

Lily smiled innocently. "What?"

"Hmph," said Trinity, turning Lily to face her and sliding her own hands under the hem of Lily's shirt while pressing their chests up against each other.

"Hey, hey, hey!" said Hugo, bopping Lily on the back of the head. "Break it up, you two! No undressing each other in public!"

"We weren't undressing each other!" Lily protested, blushing.

"Whatever," said Hugo, smirking in a very Slytherin fashion.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ooh," said Cassiopeia. "How maturely you handle your problems."

Lily let go of Trinity's hand to tug on Cassiopeia's braid and Cassiopeia, pensive mood evaporating, ducked out of her reach.

"Missed me."

*****BWST*****

Lily was sitting in Potions class, concocting a Blood Thickening Draught. It was a complicated and delicate potion, and Lily wanted to make sure that she got it just right. She was measuring out a quarter cup of shaved unicorn hoof when Professor Zabini cleared his throat.

"Miss Potter."

Lily looked up.

"The headmaster wants to see you in his office."

"Can't it wait?" asked Lily, glancing at her simmering potion.

The professor raised his eyebrows at her. Lily flushed.

"I'm sorry, sir, it's just that...my potion..."

Professor Zabini glanced at her potion. "I will trust that you would have continued in the same more than satisfactory manner as you have started and give you full marks."

"Oh, but Professor, you don't know that—and I really would like to finish it—"

"The headmaster does not like to be kept waiting," admonished Professor Zabini, "and I do not like to be talked back to."

"Yes, Professor," muttered Lily resignedly. Looking wistfully at her potion, which was beginning to bubble rather more than it was supposed to, she picked up her school bag and left for the Headmaster's office.

"Wait, Miss Potter," said Professor Zabini. "You will need this." He handed her a slip of paper.

"What—?"

"You do not expect to get into the Headmaster's office without the password, do you?"

"Oh, right..."

Lily left the classroom and walked toward the Headmaster's office, wondering what he could possibly want from her. She hadn't broken any rules that she knew of, or witnessed any being broken. If Albus was still at Hogwarts she would expect him to have played some sort of prank, but he wasn't here anymore. She supposed Hugo could have played a prank, but she didn't see what that had to do with her.

Still wondering, Lily arrived at the stone gargoyle that stood in front of the staircase to the Headmaster's office and unfolded the piece of paper.

"Hippogriff."

Lily ascended the staircase and knocked on Professor Vector's office door.

"Come in."

"You asked for me, sir?"

"Ah, Miss Potter, yes," said Professor Vector, standing up. "Yes, I did ask for you. An owl has come from your mother. Your brother is in Saint Mungos."

"Al?" squeaked Lily. "Is he okay? What happened?"

"No," said Professor Vector, "not Albus. James."

"James?" whispered Lily, the name sending a whirlwind of emotions through her. "What—what happened?" she managed, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Apparently he got in a duel with some of his teammates and came off rather badly."

"A duel? But...but James is rubbish at dueling..."

"Your mother wanted me to ask you to join the rest of your family at Saint Mungos."

Lily kneaded her forehead. James was hurt, hurt badly enough for her entire family to be at Saint Mungos. And they wanted her to join them. But James hated her; James didn't want anything to do with her. He probably wouldn't want his queer sister there anyway, if he even still thought of her as his sister. The thought brought a painful lump to her throat. _But he's my brother! What if he's really badly injured? What if he—no, no, don't think it._

"I—I—can I drop my things off in my dormitory first?"

"Of course."

*****BWST*****

When Lily arrived at her dormitory, Cassiopeia was waiting.

"Marica said you were called out of Potions," she said. And then, catching sight of Lily's face, "What's wrong?"

"James is in the hospital."

"Oh, Lily." Cassiopeia put her arms around Lily and Lily buried her face in her friend's blond hair.

"I don't even know what to feel," said Lily in a choked voice.

"I know, love, I know," said Cassiopeia, patting her back gently. "You don't have to know what to feel."

"I'm worried about him," said Lily, crying now in earnest, "but he doesn't even acknowledge my existence anymore."

"What are you going to do?" asked Cassiopeia.

"I'm going to the hospital. The rest of my family is there already. I just came to drop off my school things."

Cassiopeia hugged her friend tightly and then released her.

"Do you want me to walk with you Professor Vector's office?"

"Yeah."

The two girls walked to the Headmaster's office arm in arm, and then Lily Flooed directly to Saint Mungos. Her parents and Albus were waiting.

"Lily," said her mother moving to embrace her. "How are you?"

"Good," said Lily. "How is...James? Have you seen him?"

Ginny and her husband exchanged a glance.

"Yes, we have," said Harry. "A couple of his teammates brought him in. He's...stable, but he was beat up pretty badly. We Flooed owled Teddy, but he couldn't get off work. He'll be by later."

Lily nodded; there didn't seem to be much else to say.

The Potters continued up to the room where James was. Lily was almost afraid to go in, and when she did, she wished she hadn't. Her older brother lay on the linen sheets like a broken doll. His face was ghastly pale and disfigured with several cuts and bruises. Both eyes were swollen shut and there was big split in his lip, revealing several missing or broken teeth. One leg stuck out at an odd angle and his arm was bound in a splint. His skin had an unnatural greenish tinge to it. Several healers were swarming around his bed; even as she watched they aimed their wands at James's arm and leg, easing them back into position and mending the bones with magic.

"He was never any good at dueling," said Ginny tearfully.

Harry, Ginny, and Albus all approached the bed but Lily stayed in the doorway, unable to go any closer, unable to back away. He was her brother, but he didn't want her. He was hurt, but he had hurt her. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn't—wouldn't know what to say. So she stayed hovering in the doorway.

Ginny knelt beside the hospital bed and said something in a voice too low to make out. James's swollen eyelids flickered and his split lips moved. Ginny glanced over her shoulder at Lily and then looked back at James, shaking her head. Lily felt tears sting her eyes and turned and left the room.

Lily sat down on a blue plastic bench outside of James's hospital room, wiping angrily at her eyes. She had come, hadn't she? If he didn't want to see her, that was his problem.

Someone sat down on the bench beside her.

"Hi."

Lily ignored them. She wasn't in the mood for idle conversation.

"My name is Gwendon Jones."

Lily gave no indication that she heard him.

"You're Lily, right?"

Finally, Lily nodded.

"Nice to meet you, I'm on the Reserve Team with your brother," said Gwendon.

"I'm surprised he even admits he has a sister," muttered Lily.

Gwendon laid a hand on her shoulder. "Do you know why James is in there like that?"

"He got in a fight with some of him teammates," said Lily. "Look, I'm really not in the mood to talk right now, okay?"

"You don't have to talk," said Gwendon, "just listen. Do you know what the duel was about?"

"No," said Lily, "but he was bloody stupid getting into it. He's never been a good duelist, even one on one."

Gwendon chuckled but then sobered again. "A couple of the other guys on the team were making cracks about his sister, how she was a 'good-for-nothing fagot' and a 'little scuzzy slut' and how maybe they should find her and teach her how to appreciate men."

Lily looked up in confusion.

"He defended you," clarified Gwendon. "He told the bastards to back off. When they wouldn't he fought them. Two to one."

Lily's hand flew to her mouth. "James is in there right now because of _me_?"

"Don't blame yourself," said Gwendon. "Those jackasses acted all on their own. And your brother's a big boy; he can make his own decisions."

"I—James _defended_ me?"

"Most fiercely," said Gwendon.

"But he—he—he almost didn't get on the team because of me!"

"I don't have a baby sister," said Gwendon, "but if I did, I'd imagine she'd mean a lot more to me than a Quidditch team."

Lily stood up. "I...thank you...I've forgotten your name..."

"Gwendon, Gwendon Jones," said the young man.

"Thank you Gwendon...I...I have to go talk to my brother now."

Lily half ran back into the room. Her parents and Albus were nowhere to be seen, and the crowd of healers surrounding James had diminished. They had cleaned him up substantially, but he still looked bad; obviously many of the injuries were magically inflicted, and so less simple to treat than if James had obtained them in a physical fight.

Lily approached her brother's bed nervously, unsure of what to say and unsure of how she'd be received."

"J-James?"

He turned his head toward her. "Lily."

"James, I—"

"Lily, I'm so, so, so sorry. I was such a fucking bastard. I don't care whether you like guys or girls, you're my baby sister and I should never have forgotten that. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Oh James!" Lily fell to her knees beside his bed and threw her arms around him, sobbing.

"Ow!"

"Oh, James, I'm sorry," said Lily, pulling back hurriedly and touching her fingers to his swollen face.

"No, _I'm_ sorry," said James, gripping her wrist with his good hand. "Lils, I love you. And you are so much more important than a Quidditch team. I don't blame you if you can't forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you!" said Lily, still sobbing, cradling her brother's head in her arms. "You...you defended me...you got yourself beat up for me...playing some kind of hero..."

James attempted a smile which turned out more like a grimace. "Who talked to you?"

"Gwendon Jones."

"He's a good bloke. A better bloke than me by far. Lils, I really am sorry."

"I know," said Lily. "You're a mess," she added.

James chuckled weakly and then winced.

"What? What is it?" said Lily worriedly.

"Broken ribs," said James through gritted teeth, "cracked collarbone, bruised kidney..."

"They got you bad."

"It's not a big deal," said James flippantly, but Lily could tell he was in pain. "I deserve it, after the way I treated you."

Lily's eyes swam with tears again.

"Aw, Lils, don't cry. I'll be okay, I promise. I'm just sorry I couldn't cream those other bastards for you."

Lily smoothed his hair back from his brow, noticing a nasty cut on his hairline. "You're hopeless at dueling, you know that."

"I know," said James ruefully, "but I couldn't just stand there and do nothing while they talked about you like that."

"It's just talk, James, it doesn't hurt anyone."

"Do people say those kind of things to you?"

"Sometimes."

"Oh Lils, I never thought about it..." he squeezed her hand. "All the shit people give me, you must get it a hundred times worse. How do you deal with it?"

"You just have to learn to ignore it," said Lily. "I can't make their bigotry my problem. I have enough problems of my own."

"Like me," said James.

"It's okay—"

"It's not okay," said James.

"Well, no, it's not," admitted Lily. "But you're my brother."

"I know," said James. "I should have remembered that. I'm your big brother, I'm supposed to be there for you. Do you know why Analise and I broke up?"

"No," said Lily, startled by the abrupt change of topic.

"She had a problem with you being gay," said James.

"So I lost you your girlfriend, too," said Lily.

"No, I broke up with her."

"And yet you still..."

"I know, I was a shitfaced bastard."

"You hurt me, James. I pretended not to care, but it really hurt."

"I know," said James. "I knew. That's what makes it so awful."

"I thought you didn't love me anymore."

"Never! Lily," said James seriously, "I will always love you. You're my little sister. I would die for you."

"Please don't," said Lily, smiling slightly. "You're in bad enough shape for my sake." She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

James wrapped his good arm around her. "When those guys were threatening you...I realized I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you. I was suddenly terrified something would happen to one of us before I could apologize for being such an asshole."

"Something nearly did, thanks to you and your hot head," said Lily. "I bet those guys were all talk. Besides, how could they get to me at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, well...I guess I kind of lost my head."

"No kidding," said Lily. "You're just like Scorpius Malfoy."

"What?" said James, looking horrified.

Lily laughed. "Some girls last year played a really mean trick on Cassie and Scorpius just about lost it on them. It must be a big brother thing."

"How is Cassiopeia?"

"She's good."

"And Marica and Dawn and Hugo and Louis and everybody else?"

"They're good too. Dawn has a new boyfriend. He's kind of a prat though."

"Oh, nothing like her last one, then."

Lily rolled her eyes. Same old James, even when he was beat to a pulp.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" asked James.

"Yes," said Lily hesitantly. "Her name's Trinity Page."

"She better be good enough for you or I'll have to hunt her down and take her out."

Lily laughed. "I missed you, James," she whispered.

"I missed you, too, Lils." He looked up. "We have company."

Lily looked over her shoulder and saw that her parents and Albus had come back into the room, accompanied by a pair of healers.

"I'm afraid visiting hours are over," said one of the healers. "Mr. Potter needs undergo some intensive healing."

Lily gave her brother one last gentle hug. "I love you, James, feel better."

"I love you too, Lils," said James, hugging her back. "And I'll try. Say hi to Louis and Rose and Hugo for me, alright? And Dawn and Marica too."

"Will do," said Lily, releasing him.

Lily stood and joined the rest of her family and the healers moved to give James a Pain Reliever Potion. Almost immediately his eyes lost their focus and he sagged back on the pillows.

Harry put an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Everything alright?"

"Yes, Dad," she said, smiling damply. "Yes, everything's fine."

**AN: I couldn't keep James being an asshole forever. I always had the idea that one of the boys would end up in the hospital. I originally intended it to be Louis, but then James lent himself to it so nicely, so I put him there instead. Remember, reviews are an easy way to make me happy :)**

**-SQ**


	32. Chapter 32: Another Holiday Season

**Disclaimer: Mischief may have been managed, but acquiring the rights to Harry Potter has not, nor will it ever be, as least by me.**

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Another Holiday Season**

Lily returned to the school in a better mood than she had found herself in in months. When she entered the common room and found Cassiopeia waiting for her she promptly threw her arms around her friend.

"He's okay," she said. "He's hurt, but he's okay. Everything's okay, he apologized. He still loves me."

"Of course he still loves you," said Cassiopeia. "How could anyone not love you?"

Lily felt the vibrations of Cassiopeia's words through her cheek and chest and realized that she was still pressing the smaller girl tightly against her. She hastily released her and stepped back.

"So James is alright?"

Lily looked up and saw that it was Dawn who had spoken. She and Marica were standing a few feet away. Lily hadn't noticed them.

"Yes. I mean, he's beat up pretty badly, but nothing that can't be mended."

"Lily?" Louis's white face appeared around the corner of the boys' staircase. "You're back. I heard about James. Is he—?"

"He's fine," Lily reassured her cousin. "Well, not fine exactly, but he will be. He got in a duel."

"Is the bastard insane?" said Louis incredulously. "He couldn't duel to save his life."

"Don't call him that, Louis," Lily admonished.

Louis's thin eyebrows hot up further. "Excuse me?"

"He's not a bastard."

"Since when?"

"Since he got himself beat to a pulp defending my honor."

Louis's eyebrows rose another couple centimeters. "So...you two made up?"

"Yes."

"You forgave him?"

"Yes."

"Just like that?"

"What else could I do, Louis?" said Lily. "He's my brother."

Louis just shook his head.

*****BWST*****

With December came the snow. Lily's newfound good mood soon evaporated under the blanket of frigid whiteness that descended upon the castle grounds. She sat in the Gryffindor common room, glaring out the window at the swirling flakes and pulling her sweater more firmly around her shoulders.

"Lily, you'd really have a much better time if you stopped fighting what you can't change and learned to enjoy it," said Cassiopeia, who was currently tracing abstract shapes in the frost of the windowpane.

"How can I enjoy anything when it's so blasted cold?" grumbled Lily.

Cassiopeia leaned back in her chair, legs folded underneath her. "Well, you can enjoy the nice warm fires that are lit at this time of year, and the Christmas puddings and peppermint sticks and sugar plums, and how beautiful the grounds look, all covered in snow, the individual snowflakes that glitter in the sun, the fact that sometimes classes are canceled because of the snow, the snowball fights and snow angels and snowmen and snow forts, the Christmas carols and the holly and mistletoe, the sleigh rides and how the jingling of bells sounds on a frosty morning, the icicles and the frost on the windowpanes..."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Cassie, that was supposed to be a rhetorical question."

Cassiopeia shrugged and went back to her drawing, and Lily had to admit that she did feel better.

*****BWST*****

Being in sixth year was almost a relief. Though they were eventually preparing for their N.E.W.T.s, the sixth years had nothing but regular old school exams to take this year. The first term exams were approaching, but most of the sixth years couldn't bring themselves to worry about them very much. After all, compared to the O.W.L.s how bad could they be?

Cassiopeia, meanwhile, was beginning her preparation for her own O.W.L. exams, even though they wouldn't take place until the end of next year. It seemed rather silly to her, that the emphasis on the exams began so soon, but she supposed that some of the students needed it; probably the ones who complained the most.

Cassiopeia stared vaguely around the common room. Lily was out with Trinity, Dawn with Jesse. She didn't know where Marica was.

Louis came and sat down beside her.

"Where's Marica?" he asked, looking around.

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I don't know. Why?"

"No particular reason," said Louis shiftily, "just wondering."

"Alright," said Cassiopeia.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?" asked Louis.

"Thinking," replied Cassiopeia.

"What about?"

"Oh, things," said Cassiopeia.

"Things," repeated Louis. "How specific."

Cassiopeia laughed. "Sorry. Nothing particularly important or interesting."

"Alright, keep your mysteries, then," said Louis with a laugh. "I suppose you wouldn't be you without them."

Cassiopeia looked up and noticed a couple girls making eyes at Louis from across the room.

"You're being beckoned," she observed.

Louis looked over. "I suppose I am." He nodded to her and rose. "See you around then."

*****BWST*****

In spite of Lily's and Dawn's protests, Marica insisted that the three of them sit down and study together for their exams in the common room the night before.

"I won't let you walk in there without studying," she told them firmly.

"I have studied," Lily protested. "With Trinity."

Marica snorted.

Cassiopeia and Louis had also joined them to study for their own end-of-term exams, or at least to provide moral support. Cassiopeia was seated next to Lily, alternating glances between her own text and Lily's, while Louis reclined on a couch, watching Marica's focused page-flipping through half closed lids.

"Shouldn't you be studying too?" said Marica disapprovingly.

Louis shrugged and batted his long lashes at a passing fifth year.

Marica narrowed her eyes at him. "How many of your simpering fan girls will want you when you leave Hogwarts without any N.E.W.T.s because you spent all your time flirting instead of studying?"

Louis looked suddenly guilty.

"Ah—I think I may study after all," he said, sitting up and pulling out his Defense text book.

Lily looked at him strangely. Louis didn't listen to anyone, so why was he suddenly listening to Marica?

Lily returned to her Herbology notes, but was soon interrupted again by another disturbance on the other side of the table.

The fifth year that Louis had batted his lashes at came over and slid her arm around his neck, obviously with the intention of seating herself on his lap. But Louis, instead of allowing it, held up his hands and pushed her away.

"Not now!" he said crossly, eyes darting towards where Marica and Dawn were sitting. Lily could have sworn there was a note of panic in his voice. "Can't you see I'm studying?"

The girl stood up hurriedly. "Sorry!" she said, sounding offended, hurt, and confused.

"Well that was just rude!" said Marica after the girl had hurried off. "You flirt with her and then shove her away. That isn't like you at all, Louis Weasley! I'm surprised at you!"

Louis threw up his hands. "I give up!" he said, gathering up his things and leaving the table.

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica watched him go.

"Well." said Marica, looking slightly stunned.

"What was _that_ about?" said Dawn.

*****BWST*****

With exams over, there was a decidedly festive air about the school as the students set out for their last Hogsmeade weekend of term. The four friends had agreed to spend it together, along with Trinity and Jesse, but when they gathered together on the front steps, neither Dawn nor her boyfriend was there.

"Dawn's always late," said Marica, "we'll just have to wait for them."

They waited for fifteen minutes, but Dawn and Jesse never showed up.

"Either leave for Hogsmeade of go back into the school," said the caretaker crossly.

The four of them looked at each other helplessly.

"I guess we'll just have to go on without them," said Lily.

They had a great time in Hogsmeade, even without Dawn and Jesse. In fact, Lily and Cassiopeia preferred the day without Jesse, as neither of them were very fond of the pretentious Ravenclaw.

When the sun began to sink in the sky, they all returned to the castle for dinner. Dawn was seated at the Gryffindor table.

"Where _where_ you?" said Marica. "We waited for you for ages but then we had to finally leave without you!"

Dawn looked guilty. "Sorry, I meant to tell you guys, but then I never saw you. Jesse and I went on ahead, just the two of us. He said since it was his last chance to see me before the holidays he really wanted it to be just us. You understand, right?"

Lily frowned. Yes, she understood, but she didn't approve. Maybe she'd be more okay with it if she liked the guy, but it wasn't her place to judge who Dawn went out with.

Marica was not as forgiving, and refused to speak to Dawn all through dinner. To escape the tension, Lily sought out her own girlfriend after the meal.

"What are you doing for the holidays?" Lily asked her as they sat together on a couch in a classroom-turned-storage-space."

"We're visiting my grandparents in Ireland," said Trinity. She splayed her hand across Lily's thigh. "What about you?"

"What we do every year," said Lily, brushing Trinity's breasts with her own fingertips. "Have the entire family over and cause as much mayhem as possible."

"Mayhem?" asked Trinity, leaning in to Lily so that their lips were nearly touching.

"Mmmhmm," murmured Lily. "With my family it's guaranteed."

She closed the gap between their mouths, at the same time tightening her grip on Trinity's breast. The other girl moaned and deepened the kiss.

Lily found her hands roaming all over her girlfriend's body, reaching up under her t-shirt and bra and caress her nipples. She felt Trinity do the same to her and became aware of the fact that her jeans had somehow come undone and had slid down to her knees. They had never gone this far before; both Lily's and Trinity's shirts were on the floor; their breasts were resting against each other, separated only by the material of their bras as they explored each other's skin with lips and fingers. Lily's hands went to Trinity's skirt and pulled it up over her hips, exposing her lacy pink underwear. Her heart was hammering so hard that she felt as though her chest might explode. Her fingers brushed the lace and her breath caught. Her eyes snapped open.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, pulling away and crossing her arms over her chest, suddenly very aware of her state of undress. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I can't."

Trinity gazed up at her from the couch, her cheeks flushed, her lips wet and swollen from kissing. Her breath was ragged. She shook her head.

"Neither can I."

Lily felt an immense wave of relief wash over her. Trinity couldn't either. It was okay. She wasn't a wimp.

"I _wanted_ to," said Trinity. "But then I just...couldn't."

"Same," said Lily. "I'm just not ready."

Trinity sat up and pulled her skirt down again. Lily retrieved her own clothing and pulled it on.

They stood there awkwardly for a minute.

"So...we're okay, then, right?" said Lily.

Trinity grinned. "Of course."

Lily leaned forward and planted a kiss on Trinity's plump lips.

"Good."

Trinity looked down and caught a glimpse of her watch.

"Yipes! We're way past curfew."

"Come on," said Lily, "I'll show you a way we won't get caught."

*****BWST*****

Lily's parents picked her and Hugo up from platform 9 ¾ the next afternoon. Hugo's parents were away on business so Hugo was going to spend the next two days until they got back with the Potters. The cousins were thrilled. Even better, in Lily's opinion, Albus was out of town for the weekend, so she would have Hugo all to herself; it would be just like old times.

Lily said goodbye to Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica and followed her parents to the car, chatting with Hugo the whole way. They were already planning when they would do their last minute Christmas shopping.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Hugo tripped through the doorway, laughing loudly.

"Did you see the look on his face when I asked for all that chocolate?"

"He thought you were going to eat it all yourself!"

Ginny's face appeared at the top of the steps. "I take it you two had a good time?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Yes, Aunt Ginny."

"Good, now you can come in and help me set the table."

Lily and Hugo groaned but complied.

After dinner they went outside to the back yard, which consisted of a small patch of grass, several flower pots, and a single tree. Two of the branches of this tree, halfway up the trunk and across from each other, were curved in such a way that they made perfect seats. Lily and Hugo had spent many days there as children, playing cards or eating cookies or playing with Lily's dolls. Now they clamored up the trunk with practiced ease and settled themselves into their usual places.

"This seat is getting smaller," Hugo complained, wriggling about to get comfortable.

"Maybe you're just getting bigger," Lily teased as she leaned against her own branch. Lily had grown too since they had started climbing this tree, but not nearly as much as Hugo had. They used to be roughly the same size, but now Hugo was a good six inches taller than her, and still growing.

Hugo wriggled about some more and then fell still, apparently giving up on fitting comfortably into the space on the branch.

"Hugo," said Lily, idly thumping her bare heels against the trunk of the tree. "Do you realize that Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur are going to be grandparents when Teddy and Victoire's baby is born?"

"Aunt Fleur doesn't look like a grandmother," said Hugo, "can you imagine anyone calling her gran?"

Lily burst out laughing. "I don't think I _could_ if she was my grandmother. She looks too young and beautiful."

Hugo nodded in agreement. "It's funny to think of Uncle Bill as a grandfather too, I mean, he's of the same generation as our parents, right? And they're our _parents_."

"I still have trouble thinking of Teddy and Victoire as adults even, and now they're having a baby. It's weird."

"Before you know it _you'll_ be having a baby, Looey," said Hugo.

"I doubt it," said Lily.

"Oh, right," said Hugo. "Good point." He snapped a dead stick off of a branch by his head. "Do you ever want kids?"

Lily shrugged. "I dunno. I never really thought about it. If I do then I guess I'll adopt or something."

"I've always wondered about that," said Hugo. "Adopting I mean. Can an adopted kid ever really feel like _your_ kid?"

"I think they would," said Lily. "I mean, the only difference is you didn't actually carry and give birth to them, right? That's only nine months of time lost, compared to the seventeen or eighteen years you spend raising them. And you raise them like your own kid. I know my mum and dad think of Teddy as their kid, even though he's not _biologically_. I think of him as my brother. And Grandma and Granddad Weasley didn't meet my dad until he was eleven, but they love him as much as any of their own children."

"Good point," said Hugo. "I hadn't thought about that. I pretty much think of Teddy as my cousin too, now that you mention it, and I know that Grandma and Granddad Weasley kind of unofficially adopted Uncle Harry when he was in school."

Lily felt a raindrop plot on the top of her head.

"Ugh, it's starting to rain, let's go back inside before we get soaked or my mum'll kill us."

More drops began to fall and the two teenagers slithered down the trunk of the tree and ran for the house, covering their heads with their arms.

*****BWST*****

At breakfast three days before Christmas, a very official-looking white and gray owl flew in through the Potters' kitchen window and landed on the dining table in front of Harry. Harry untied the letter from its leg, skimmed it, and grinned across the table at his wife and children.

"It's from Saint Mungo's," he said. "The tests checked out. They're sending James home. He'll be home for Christmas."

"Oh, Harry, really? Let me see," said Ginny, snatching the letter out of her husband's hands.

"What, you don't believe me?" said Harry jokingly.

"No, no, here it is, it says right here. Oh what good news!"

"I'm going to write Cassie," said Lily.

"I'm gonna go write Scorp," said Albus at the same time.

Lily and Albus smiled at each other in a rare moment of sibling understanding. Then they both thundered off up the stairs to write to their best friends.

*****BWST*****

Harry and Ginny wouldn't let Lily and Albus come with them to the hospital to pick up James.

"You have to stay here and finish cleaning the house for Christmas," said Ginny sternly.

So, grumbling and pouting, the two siblings stayed at home and finished getting number twelve Grimmauld place ready for the coming festivities.

They both dropped everything when they heard the car pull into the driveway.

Lily made it to the door before Albus and barred him from flying out, instead opening the door to let James and her parents through. James still looked distinctly worse for wear. He was on crutches, and there was still mottled bruising on his face; he moved as though his ribs were very tender.

Lily gave her brother a gentle hug.

"James."

"Lils," he said, ruffling her hair.

"Hey, what about me?" said Albus.

James grinned at his brother over Lily's head. "I haven't forgotten you, Al."

"Albus, Lily, help you brother into the house!"

"I can do it myself, Mum," said James irritably.

Lily and Albus stepped back to allow him to cross the threshold.

"Why did it take so long?" asked Albus. "How come you're on crutches? Why couldn't they fix it all?"

"Magical injuries," James explained. "Resisted normal healing. They had to use methods that took longer, and left me real weak. The bruising on my face is actually from the healing."

Albus looked indignant. "How come the healing hurt you? Doesn't sound like they're very good healers."

"They're healers, Al, not miracle workers," said James.

There was a crashing sound from the kitchen.

"What the—?"

"James?"

"Oh," said Lily, smiling. "Teddy."

Teddy came hurtling around the corner from the kitchen.

"I can't stay long, I have to get back to Victoire, I just wanted to see—James!" His face broke into a grin.

"Teddy," said James, grinning back at his godbrother.

Teddy looked James up and down. "Well, you've looked better, but you've certainly looked worse."

James chuckled. "It's good to see you too, Teddy."

Teddy gave him a brief hug. "I really do have to be getting home. I just wanted to make sure you got home safely and everything. I'll see you in a couple days." He waved to all of them and then Disapparated, knocking the end table spinning in the process.

*****BWST*****

Scorpius Malfoy observed his little sister across the Christmas Eve dinner table. She sat across from him, a vision straight from a Christmas fairytale in her white velvet dress with its red collar and cuffs and her green paten leather shoes and red stockings. There was even a sprig of holly tucked into her gleaming hair. Yet Cassiopeia somehow managed to make this ridiculous ensemble look striking.

Cassiopeia felt her brother's eyes on her and looked up from her plate.

_Yes?_

His gaze traveled up and down her outfit. _You look nice._

_So do you._

Scorpius seriously doubted it. Not that he wasn't aware of his own stunningly good looks; he just didn't see how any nineteen-year-old male could look good in an emerald green tuxedo with candy-cane striped cuffs.

It was their grandmother Narcissa who insisted on these ridiculous ensembles. As soon as dinner was over they would have their picture taken, and then they would be free to change into less laughable outfits. Not that Cassiopeia looked laughable.

_No, really, you do._

Scorpius raised his eyebrows at his sister and plucked at his sleeves. _With the candy-cane striped cuffs?_

_Okay, perhaps those are a bit much._

_Hmph. Just a bit._

Cassiopeia smiled reassuringly at her brother. _It'll be over soon._

_Not soon enough._

Cassiopeia's eyes flicked toward the clock on the wall and then to Scorpius's impatiently tapping fingers. _Patience is a virtue._

Scorpius grimaced and Cassiopeia giggled silently. Everyone always insisted on fighting things they couldn't change, and which ultimately meant very little: Lily with the cold weather, Scorpius with the outfits their grandmother made them wear for Christmas. She looked over at her brother again. Best not to remind him that the pictures that were about to be taken of them would be used in the Christmas cards Draco and Astoria would be sending out to all of their friends.

*****BWST*****

Everyone who came for Christmas at the Potters' made a fuss over James. He was looking so well, was he okay, they were glad he was home, did he need anything. Lily understood, but she found it slightly annoying. Certainly he had redeemed himself from being such an ass, but that didn't make him a bloody martyr. But it wasn't James she was annoyed with; because it seemed to her that he wasn't much enjoying all the attention either. So when he complained of a headache after dinner and retired to his room Lily followed him.

"James? It's Lily. Can I come in?"

"Yes."

Lily opened the door hesitantly. While she had often come into James's room as a little girl, she hadn't been in here for several years. It was different of course; the room of a young man instead of a little boy. It also had a vague feeling of disuse from the months that James had been living away from home. James was seated on the bed, leaning back against the headboard.

"Do you really have a headache?"

"Yes," said James.

"I'm sorry," said Lily. "Should I go?"

"No," said James. "I do have a headache, but that's not the main reason I came up here."

"What is?"

"I'm sick of them fawning over me," said James. "I'm not some porcelain doll that's going to break; I'm not some great war hero. I'm an ass of a boy who made a mistake and then got his ass whooped trying to rectify it."

Lily sat down next to him. "You're not an ass, James."

He smiled wryly. "Well I can sure act like one sometimes."

"Not usually."

James smiled and put his arm around Lily. She leaned into him, mindful of his tender ribs.

"You're not the only reason I moved out, you know," said James. "I really did want my own life, to stop being treated like a little kid, to stop being seen as just the oldest Potter son. I know it's hard for you to understand, Lily, I know you love it here, but it's not my home anymore, not really. It's my childhood home, and I'm not a child anymore."

Lily nodded. "You're right...I don't understand per se...but it makes a kind of sense, the thing about not being a child anymore. I'm starting to feel that too."

"Don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up, Lils," said James. "It'll force itself on you soon enough."

"I'll keep that in mind."

*****BWST*****

The other big focus of attention that Christmas and New Year's was Victoire and the baby she was carrying. Even with her increasingly large and round belly, which everyone was forever cooing at and fawning over, Victoire managed to look stunning. She forever complained about her swollen ankles and her blotchy skin and her grotesque belly, but pregnancy itself lent her a whole new kind of beauty.

The healers had confirmed that the baby would be a boy, and everyone was suggesting names for the newest addition to the family.

"You could name him Ignatius, that's a nice sounding name."

"No, it's a horrid name, what are you talking about? Call him Crystal."

"Crystal? He's a boy, not a girl. How about a nice manly name like Bruce?"

"Bruce? Ugh. Sounds like the name of a dog. You should name him something beautiful, like Clarence."

"No, a name that means something, like Valiant."

"How about naming him after someone famous, like one of the names from the Breathless Banshees."

"How cliché. Name him after someone in the family, like Bill."

"Talk about cliché."

Lily didn't see what all the fuss was about. Sure, she loved babies, who didn't? But Victoire's bulging stomach was hardly riveting. As Hugo put it, "How many times can you put your hand up to her belly and say, 'Oh! I think I felt him kick!'?"

*****BWST*****

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season drew to a close and Lily found herself once again packing her bags to return to Hogwarts. She wasn't sorry though. As much as she loved her home and her family, she missed her friends and Hogwarts Castle.

Cassiopeia, too, was pleased to go back. True, she would miss Scorpius—it was strange being at Hogwarts without him—but life at Hogwarts was simply much more interesting than life in the Malfoy home.

Scorpius dropped her off at platform 9 ¾.

"Have a good term," he called to her.

She waved goodbye to him one last time and then cast around for her friends. It didn't take her long to find Lily, Hugo, and Louis, who were just them coming through the barrier.

"Lily!"

Lily looked up at the sound of her name and met Cassiopeia's blue-gray eyes. Seriously, her friend got more beautiful every day. Her stomach did a funny flip-flop as though she had eaten something funny for breakfast.

"Hey, Cassie."

Cassiopeia smiled one of her radiant smiles. "Thanks for the present."

"What—oh! Yes," said Lily, feeling stupid. What was with her today? She must not have gotten enough sleep over the holidays. Yes, that was it. "Thanks for yours."

Hugo and Louis came up and shoved them in the backs.

"Let's get moving girls."

"Yeah, I'd like to get a compartment sometime this century."

The two girls stuck their tongues out at the boys and then led the way to the Hogwarts Express, keeping their eyes peeled for Marica and Dawn.

**AN: The thing about adoption, just so it's clear, my little brother is adopted and I firmly believe that an adopted child is just as much your "real" child as a biological one.**

**I know this chapter was rather long. I'm not in love with it, but I don't think it's half bad either. But I'll let you be the judge of that. Perhaps in a review...?**

**-SQ**


	33. Chapter 33: Confused Feelings

**Disclaimer: No, the reason for my atrocious updating schedule is not a legal battle for the rights to Harry Potter.**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Confused Feelings**

"Alright," said Lily, stamping her feet to shake the snow off of her boots before following the rest of the sixth years into the castle after Care of Magical Creatures "I am officially ready for the snow to stop."

Trinity laughed. "You've been officially ready for the snow to stop since it began," she said, shaking fluffy white powder from her scarf.

"I have not," said Lily indignantly. "I thought it was pretty the first day."

Trinity snorted and turned to Dawn for support, but the other girl didn't see her. The reason for this was that Jesse Verell had arrived in the entrance hall at the same time that they had, and he and Dawn were currently engaged in an enthusiastic game of tonsil hockey.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Do they have to be so—so _demonstrative_?"

Hugo, who was on Lily's other side, laughed. "A lot of couples are like that. Just ignore them."

"Why does she like him so much anyway?" said Lily. "He gives me the creeps. But whenever I try to talk to her about it Dawn only gets angry at me."

"Let them alone," said Trinity, grabbing her arm and planting a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Come on, you two lovebirds," Hugo added, "we're going to be late for Charms."

*****BWST*****

"Cassiopeia, psst, Cassiopeia!"

Cassiopeia looked up from her notes. Miles Finnegan was leaning over from his seat, hissing her name.

"Cassiopeia, can I borrow your ink?"

Cassiopeia nodded and handed Miles her inkwell. As she did so she noticed that his inkwell was still half-full.

_So why would he want to borrow mine?_ She thought. _Oh._

She looked at Miles again with new interest. He was a short boy, though not nearly as short as her, with cropped reddish brown hair, an upturned nose, and a few, very light freckles on his nose.

Cassiopeia propped her chin in her hand.

_What would I do_, she wondered_, if he asked me out? He's cute, and he's nice, and funny...he's smart too. I think I'll ask Lily what she would do, well, provided she liked boys._

As it happened, Cassiopeia didn't have time to consult Lily on the matter. As the class was packing their bags to leave the room, Cassiopeia felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Here's your inkwell," said Miles, handing it back to her.

"Thank you.'

"I was wondering," said Miles, fidgeting with the waist of his robes, "if you might want to go out with me sometime. Like, you know, on a date." He worried his lip.

Cassiopeia suddenly felt very shy, as shy as she had been as a first year. But then she looked at Miles, who was still fidgeting nervously, and the sight gave her back some of her confidence.

"Yes," she managed. "Yes, I think that would be...nice."

Miles's head jerked up. "What? Really?" he said, a surprised grin forming on his face. "I—wow—great! There's a Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match this Saturday—well, of course you know that, you're on the team—maybe we could do something afterward, take a walk or something."

"Alright," said Cassiopeia, glad that Miles apparently had an idea of what a date was supposed to be like.

"Great, well—can I walk you to lunch?" asked Miles.

"Alright," said Cassiopeia again, not seeing any reason to say no.

Miles chatted about this and that—Quidditch, classes, news, the weather—all the way from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to the Great Hall. There he waved an enthusiastic goodbye and went to sit with his friends while Cassiopeia went to sit with hers.

"Who was that?" asked Lily curiously, spooning pea and onion tart onto her plate.

"Miles Finnegan," said Cassiopeia, pouring herself a glass of water. "He's in my year. I have a date with him on Saturday."

Lily choked on her tart and Marica had to pound her forcefully on the back.

"_What?"_

Cassiopeia looked slightly taken aback.

"He asked me out and I said yes and he suggested we do something after the match on Saturday," she said.

"But—but—" spluttered Lily, with no idea why she found this so distressing, "won't you...won't you be too tired after the match?"

Cassiopeia smiled. "It's against Hufflepuff, I hardly think so."

"They've got a pretty impressive team this year," argued Lily.

Cassiopeia raised a thin eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"Er—" said Lily.

"Relax," advised Dawn with a laugh. "Cassie's not a baby anymore. I think it's fantastic that she has a date!"

She and Marica began quizzing Cassie all about Miles while Lily stared at her plate, confused by her own reaction. Cassiopeia _wasn't_ a little kid anymore, she knew that; boy did she ever, you only had to look at her to see that. But Lily felt protective of her, like...like a sister, yes, that was it; well, not _exactly _like a sister... but she just didn't want Cassiopeia getting hurt or anything. Because she cared about her. As a friend.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Trinity, Hugo, Marica, and Louis settled themselves into the stands of the Quidditch pitch beside where Paloma and her little sister Alondra were already seated. Almost as soon as they were seated the Hufflepuff team walked out onto the field. The other six listened raptly as the commentator announced the names of the Hufflepuff team members, but Lily wasn't really that interested. She only turned her attention back to the field when the red-and-gold-clad Gryffindor players came into view. Dawn held her head proudly, every inch a captain. Cassiopeia was by far the smallest player on the team—actually, she was the smallest player on all four teams—almost invisible in the midst of her teammates. She looked good in her Quidditch robes though, not that she ever looked bad in anything. Though it wasn't visible from the stands, Lily knew her long blond hair was braided tightly down her back; Lily had braided it herself.

Lily sat back in her seat and watched as the whistle sounded and the two teams took to the air. Lily soon lost interest in the back and forth of the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was all too confusing for her anyway; instead she turned her attention to her best friend. She loved watching Cassiopeia fly. Lily always felt like some big clumsy fool when she was on a broom, but Cassiopeia moved with such grace and ease she almost appeared to be dancing. Lily sat with her chin propped on her hand, idly playing with her red-and-silver bracelet, watching her best friend dive and glide, oblivious to the shouting, booing, and cheering all around her. Then she felt someone whack her on the head.

"Ow!"

She turned around and glared at Hugo.

"What was that for?"

"Your girlfriend's been trying to get your attention for the last three minutes," he said with a very Slytherin smirk.

"Oh," she looked at Trinity guiltily. But why was she feeling so guilty anyway? "Sorry. Yes?"

"Are you paying any attention to the game at all?" asked Trinity. "Or are you just daydreaming?"

"I'm paying attention to the game," said Lily defensively. And why was she defensive?

"Uh huh..." said Trinity. "Gryffindor's scored three times in the past ten minutes and you haven't reacted once."

Lily blushed. And _why_ was she blushing?

"Oh..."

Hugo and Marica rolled their eyes.

"Oblivious, completely and totally oblivious."

*****BWST*****

Though Hufflepuff played better than anybody had expected Gryffindor still won the game. Lily gasped and stood on tiptoe with the rest of the school as the tiny figure of Cassiopeia Malfoy suddenly turned sharply and shot in the direction of the Hufflepuff goal posts. The Hufflepuff Seeker rocketed after her. Everyone in the stands was squinting toward the goal posts, trying to make out the tiny golden Snitch.

"Where is it?"

"I can't see it!"

"Is she feinting?"

Five feet in front of the goal posts Cassiopeia suddenly dropped like a rock, hurtling toward the earth at a frightening speed. Lily screamed and clutched Trinity. The onlookers saw Cassiopeia, still free-falling downwards, reach out a hand and snatch something out of midair—the Snitch! Her progress slowed and she alighted gracefully on the grass of the pitch, holding the fluttering golden ball over her head. A great cheer went up from the Gryffindor supporters as the team descended upon her. Cassiopeia grinned.

Lily screamed again and grabbed Trinity by the lapels, kissing her soundly.

"She did it!"

Hugo laughed. "I've never seen you so excited about a Quidditch game."

Lily shrugged, too flushed with happiness for her friend to feel embarrassed (besides, there was no _reason_ to feel embarrassed. Right?).

She quickly pushed her way through the hordes of people leaving the stands to get to Cassiopeia. Halfway there, however, her elation faded suddenly as she saw another figure reach the petite girl first; a figure with cropped reddish brown hair, an upturned nose, and a light dusting of freckles across his nose. Miles Finnegan.

Miles offered Cassiopeia his arm and they set out together, the dying sun glinting on Cassiopeia fair locks. Lily seethed. Who was he, this Miles Finnegan, to take her best friend away from her?

_Am I feeling..._jealous_?_

Well, she had a right to, didn't she? Lily picked angrily at the bracelet encircling her wrist. Cassiopeia had given it to her, it was a symbol of their friendship; they had been friends for nearly four years. Miles hardly _knew_ Cassiopeia and now he was taking Cassiopeia's time away from Lily.

_Lily, you hypocrite!_ She thought to herself. _You have a girlfriend too!_

It wasn't like she was interested in Cassiopeia _that_ way anyway. Was she? She watched Cassiopeia giggle at something Miles had said, head tilting slightly on her ivory pale neck. Of course not. She gave the bracelet one last tug. How ridiculous.

*****BWST*****

"So, how was your date with Miles?"

Cassiopeia looked up from her porridge at Lily.

"Fine..." she said cautiously.

"Just 'fine'?" said Lily, slightly aggressively.

Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow a fraction. Though Cassiopeia had expected her friend to wait up for her, begging eagerly to hear every detail of her fist date, Lily had already been in bed by the time she returned from her date with Miles the night before. Then in the morning the redhead had been strangely moody and silent.

Lily sighed, tracing the threads of her bracelet with her thumbnail. "Sorry. I'm just...I don't know. I'm tired. And it's weird to think of you going on dates, you know?" She rubbed her eyes. "So it was good?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "Yes, Miles is nice."

"Are you...are you going on another date with him then?"

Cassiopeia shook her head. "No. He asked me to, but I don't like him that way and I told him so. If we went on another date people would say he was my boyfriend, and I don't feel like I want Miles as my boyfriend, I don't feel anything romantic toward him."

Lily smiled. "Good decision, I mean, not dating someone unless you really like them that way. You're smarter than I was with Kyle."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Perhaps. Everyone is different. Look at Tamzen."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Tamzen's a slut. We used to be friends, but she stopped talking to me when I came out, and she sleeps with anything that moves, practically. And if she wore any less clothing she might as well go around naked."

Cassiopeia giggled. "You shouldn't judge," she admonished lightly.

"She shouldn't be a hoe," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

Lily tapped her quill against the library table, gazing glazedly at her textbook without seeing the letters on the page and rubbing the silver threads of her bracelet with her opposite thumb.

"Lily? Lily?" Trinity snapped her fingers in front of Lily's face. "Hey, Lily!"

"Huh?" said Lily, jumping slightly.

"I was asking what was up with you," said Trinity with a touch of impatience. "You've been really distant lately."

"Sorry," said Lily apologetically, twisting the bracelet around on her wrist. "I don't know what's up with me lately."

Trinity sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "Well..." she said slowly. "I think maybe I do." She twisted a lock of hair between her thumb and forefinger. "It happens; people get used to each other, the novelty wears off, their attentions start wandering...it's no one's fault you know?" She reached out and cupped Lily's cheek in her hand. "I really like you, and I had a really great time with you. If you want to stick it out then I'll try with you, but...I've been getting the feeling for a while that we're kind of...over, you know? Correct me if I'm wrong."

Lily felt tears pricking her eyes. "No, you're right. Like always. I've been feeling it too. I just...didn't want to recognize it I suppose." She smiled damply. "Can I at least have a goodbye kiss?"

Trinity smiled back at her. "Of course."

The two girls leaned across the table and pressed their lips together, gently working them against each other for several moments. Then, with a last soft peck they drew back.

"Friends?" said Lily.

"Friends," Trinity agreed.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia took one look at Lily as she entered the common room and crossed the room to put an arm around her friend's waist. Lily buried her face in Cassiopeia's silky hair.

"Trinity and I broke up."

Cassiopeia squeezed her tighter; Lily pressed herself into the warm comfort of her friend's arms, inhaling the cedar and jasmine scent of Cassiopeia's long, silky hair.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," said Lily hoarsely.

Cassiopeia kissed her softly on the cheek.

"These things happen," she said.

"I know," said Lily. "It's just hard, 'cause she was my first girlfriend, you know? The first person I ever really had something like that with. But I never truly thought she was 'the one', if that person even exists."

"She does," said Cassiopeia with complete confidence. "Don't worry, you'll find her."

*****BWST*****

"Dawn. Dawn! _Dawn!_"

Dawn disentangled her mouth from Jesse's enough to scowl at Lily and say "What?"

"We really have to work on this report," said Lily, tapping the cover of her Charms textbook impatiently. "It's due on Wednesday and we've barely started."

"Relax," said Dawn flippantly, allowing Jesse's hands to roam over her in what Lily thought of as a highly inappropriate manor for the library. "We'll get it done."

"We _won't_ get it done if you don't stop snogging and falling all over your boyfriend and help me work on it."

Dawn glared at her.

"You're just jealous because you don't have a girlfriend anymore."

"That is completely irrelevant," said Lily. "I don't want to fail this project!"

Dawn sat up reluctantly, still perched on Jesse's lap.

"Oh all _right_," she said, reaching for one of the textbooks. "Don't be such a sourpuss."

*****BWST*****

"Dawn, come on," said Marica, pulling on her sleeve. "You have Quidditch practice, and you're the captain!"

"You've already been late twice this week," said Cassiopeia softly but sternly.

"I'll be there is a sec!" said Dawn, shrugging off Marica's hand. "I just need to ask Jesse something real quick."

"You just saw him at dinner!" said Lily, exasperated. She was still more than a little annoyed with her friend over their Bharms project, which they had only gotten an A on.

Ignoring Lily, Dawn rounded the last corner before the entrance to Ravenclaw tower and then stopped so suddenly that the other three crashed into her.

"What the—"

Cassiopeia held up a hand and pointed past Dawn to an alcove next to the Ravenclaw common room door.

Jesse Verell had a dark-haired Ravenclaw girl pressed up against the stone wall of the alcove, her shirt pulled up over her breasts, her skirt pushed up around her hips. His lips appeared to be glued to hers as his hands stroked her through her bra and underwear, eliciting little moans of pleasure from the girl. As they watched, transfixed in horror, Jesse slid his hands underneath the thin layers of lacy fabric, at the same time moving his lips downwards to suck on the dark-haired girl's neck.

Dawn screamed.

Jesse's head snapped up, his hands still hidden beneath the girl's lacy undergarments.

"Well fuck."

Lily was quivering in shock and rage. Marica was trying to pull Dawn away from the scene, but the taller girl seemed unable to move. Cassiopeia took a step forward, a deadly calm descending over her.

"Cosa pensi che stai facendo?"

Jesse started at being addressed in his family's native language.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he said, drawing himself up to his full height.

Cassiopeia took another step forward, seemingly un-intimidated.

"Siete stati barare su Dawn."

"So?" said Jesse, attempting an unaffected manner. It was obvious, though, that Cassiopeia unnerved him. "I wanted some action and she wasn't giving me any."

Cassiopeia narrowed her eyes in disgust.

"Tu sei un bastardo."

And before Jesse could formulate a response, Cassiopeia turned on her heel and swept away down the corridor, Lily, Marica, and Dawn following wordlessly after her.

*****BWST*****

"Cassie, what got _into_ you?" said Lily in shock when she had regained her voice.

Cassiopeia shrugged. She wasn't sure herself. "I just got angry that he had done that to Dawn."

Lily shook her head in amazement ad Marica told the Fat Lady the password and guided Dawn to a chair in the Gryffindor common room, all thoughts of Quidditch practice forgotten.

"I—I—I can't believe it!" she sobbed. "I can't believe he would cheat on me!"

Lily, Marica, and Cassiopeia shared a glance. _They_ could believe that Jesse would cheat on her, he seemed just the kind of slimy git to pull a stunt like that, but it wouldn't make Dawn feel any better to tell her so.

Marica pulled her into a hug and Lily and Cassiopeia patted her shoulders.

"It's okay," said Marica. "You don't want a prat like that anyway."

"But he was so...perfect!" sobbed Dawn.

"Obviously not, if he would cheat on you," said Lily.

The portrait hole swung open and Louis entered, laughing and flirting loudly with several girls.

Marica shot him a reproachful look.

"Er—" he stuttered, before regaining his suavity. "Mademoiselles, I must leave you," he said apologetically to the girls.

He bowed graciously out of their disappointed midst and joined Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica.

"Whoa, what happened?" he asked in concern.

"Jesse Verell was cheating on Dawn," said Lily.

Louis scowled.

"I never liked that asshole; if his head was any bigger he wouldn't fit through the doorway. You're good to be rid of him, Dawn."

Dawn just cried harder.

The other three girls ended up putting a still-sobbing Dawn to bed before dinner, and then retiring to bed themselves soon after, none of them feeling much like staying up and chatting.

*****BWST*****

The next morning in the Great Hall Jesse Verell approached Dawn, wringing his hands in a showily apologetic manner.

"Dawn, I'm sorry, I never should have done that. You know I love you. I was just frustrated—"

Marica put a protective arm around Dawn's shoulders.

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Come on Prewett, she's my girlfriend."

"Not anymore she's not," said Lily.

"Come on, Dawn, I was just working some stuff out, you know? Going through a rough time. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Non puoi prendere un suggerimento?" said Cassiopeia. "Invia."

"Dawn, please, it was all a mistake—"

"The only _mistake_ was her going out with you in the first place," said Louis, appearing over Jesse's shoulder. "You're obviously not wanted here. So fuck off."

Jesse glowered at him.

"Who're you to tell me what to do, Weasley?"

"Someone who doesn't cheat on their girlfriends."

"Yeah, only _flirts_ with everything in a skirt," sneered Jesse.

"At least I let them leave their skirts _on_," said Louis.

Looking livid, Jesse brought his fist back and slammed it into Louis's stomach. Louis doubled over wheezing.

"Louis!"

Both Lily and Marica rushed to him and put their arms around him.

"Don't you hit Louis!" said Marica, glaring daggers at Jesse. "You bastard!" She looked as though she were about to launch herself at him, but Louis, still gasping, grabbed her arm.

"No—you'll get—pummeled."

Dawn spoke for the first time.

"You think insulting and hitting my friends is going to make me go out with you again? You _are_ dense. I don't know what I ever saw in you."

Jesse flipped them all the bird and then stalked back to his seat at the Ravenclaw table.

"Louis?" said Lily, helping him to sit on the bench. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah—" panted Louis, massaging his stomach. "I'm—fine. He—hits—like—a—girl."

Marica laughed and handed him a glass of water.

"Here."

"Thanks," said Louis, his cheeks flushing, from anger Lily assumed. "That bastard really gets on my nerves."

"No kidding," said Lily.

"I think we can all agree on that one," said Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

It was the last day of January, and that meant that it was Cassiopeia's fifteenth birthday.

"Make a wish!" said Lily eagerly, waving her hand at the blue-and white frosted cake so hard that the candles flickered.

"Only if you don't blow the candles out for me!" said Cassiopeia teasingly.

She took a deep breath and then blew with all her might. All but one candle flickered out.

"It doesn't matter," said Cassiopeia when Lily frowned in sympathy. "Let's just eat cake."

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia went to bed that night tired and contented. No, more than contented, very, very happy. Her fifteenth birthday had been all that she could have wished for: her friends, more than she could have ever imagined having, around her, great food, and a letter from Scorpius. She smiled and sighed contentedly as she sank back into her pillows, replaying the best bits of the day over and over in her mind: Lily presenting her with her cake, Louis surprising her with a hurled snowball as soon as she stepped outside, Dawn and Marica singing "Happy Birthday" slightly off key, Bryan Carmichael, tabby cat in tow, shyly coming up to her and handing her a birthday card, Lily laughing delightedly as Cassiopeia opened her presents, clapping her hands like a first year...

Cassiopeia smiled sleepily and though of her wish, idly wondering if fourteen out of fifteen candles was enough to make it come true.

**AN: I knew that years 6 & 7 for Lily would have more chapters, but I didn't plan it being 1 month per chapter but often I would get through 1 month & realize it was already over 3000 words, and so the length of a full chapter.**

**If anyone watches Glee then you'll know where I got Jesse's first name from.**

**In case you hadn't recognized, the language Cassie is speaking to Jesse is Italian.**

**Thank you for reading. And thank you VERY much if you plan on REVIEWING ;)**

**-SQ**


	34. Chapter 34: Searching Out a Girlfriend

**Author's Note: This story always takes me longer to write chapter of than any of the my other ones, even when the other chapters end up being as long or longer, I don't really know why. No, that's a lie, I do. It's because this one was planned, I came up with it intentionally instead of it thrusting itself upon me. But no matter. Here is chapter thirty-four, I hope you like it. :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Take 34: No, I do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Searching Out a Girlfriend**

The nice thing about Lily's break-up with Trinity was that the two remained friends. Everyone told them what a pity it was that they were now going to be single for Valentine's Day, and perhaps they should get back together for it, but they both just shook their heads and laughed. Lily did have to admit though that it was just a tad depressing to watch all the couples (and there did seem to be a lot of them) preparing for Valentine's Day and to not have a girlfriend of her own. Still, none of her friends had significant others either, so that was okay.

Well, it was until Cassiopeia got asked out.

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Louis, Trinity, and River were all in the library, chatting and working on their homework, when the Slytherin Seeker, a fifth year named Damian Urquhart, came up to their table.

Dawn and River looked up at him. "What do you want?"

Urquhart held his hands out in front of him. "Hey, no need to be hostile, Hartly, Thurshal, we're not on the Quidditch pitch. Besides, it's not you I was coming to talk to." He turned somewhat unsurely to Cassiopeia—she seemed to have that effect on most people. "Er...Cassiopeia. I've seen you fly and you're...you're really a good Seeker, great actually. Really talented. And you're really pretty too." He ran a hand through his sleek black hair. "And I was wondering, maybe...if you don't already have a date for Hogsmeade for Valentine's weekend..."

Cassiopeia smiled shyly. "Are you asking me to be your valentine?"

"Er—yes, that is—yes," said Urquhart. "I am."

Cassiopeia inclined her head slightly. "I would be honored."

After Urquhart had left Lily turned to Dawn. "Aren't you worried about Cassie dating someone on an opposing Quidditch team?"

"Since when do you care about Quidditch?" said Dawn. "And Cassie knows better than to give away any of our tactics."

"That's not the point," said Lily, not entirely sure what the point was, "I think it's a bad idea to have your Seeker dating the Slytherin team's Seeker."

"I'm right here, you know," said Cassiopeia. "And it's my life not yours. Besides, it's just one date, I don't even know if anything will come of it."

"I agree with Dawn," said River, who was the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. "I trust my team members, and I'd rather have them happy and cooperative and dating whomever they want than angry at me for not letting them date players from other teams."

"Don't pretend you know anything about Quidditch," advised Dawn.

Lily stuck her tongue out at her as Trinity laughed.

*****BWST*****

Lily had been half hoping for foul weather so that nobody could go to Hogsmeade, but Valentine's weekend was cool and clear, perfect for a romantic outing.

Cassiopeia left with Urquhart mid-morning so that they could have the entire day to spend in the village, but Lily dragged her feet as she got ready to go with Dawn, Marica, and River. Originally Trinity had planned to join them, but at the last minute a fifth year Hufflepuff had asked her out for the day and she had accepted.

When the group finally left through the main doors, they passed Louis and several of his admirers.

Marica narrowed her eyes. "That's not what Valentine's Day is supposed to be about at all," she said. "It's supposed to be two people celebrating a day of romance, not a player toting around his fan club of fawning girls."

"He didn't want to choose one and leave all the others behind," said Lily.

"Well he's going to have to choose one sometime!" said Marica angrily. "Or does he plan on practicing polygamy?"

Lily opened her mouth to defend her cousin, but Marica cut her off.

"No, forget it. I don't want to hear another word about Louis Weasley."

Lily, Dawn, and River raised their eyebrows at each other but said nothing. Maybe it was Marica's time of the month.

*****BWST*****

All in all, it was a rather glum Valentine's outing. Marica continued to be in a mood the entire day, Lily was still feeling annoyed at the world in general, and Dawn got very quiet after she spotted Jesse making out with the girl he had cheated on her with. River did his best to cheer them up, but he was no match for three moody girls.

They returned to the castle fairly early in the day, making their way through what seemed like hoards of snogging couples on the grounds and in the corridors. They passed Hugo and his girlfriend, Tamzen and her latest boy-toy, and Trinity and her date as well as numerous others.

River bid them farewell and headed toward Ravenclaw tower, Marica said she had to get a book from the library, and Dawn decided to go with her to return a Quidditch book she had checked out, so Lily made her way back to Gryffindor Tower on her own.

She rounded the last corner, thinking fondly of the warm common room fire that undoubtedly roared behind the portrait of the Fat Lady, only to find her way blocked by yet another couple. This one wasn't snogging yet; the boy seemed to be whispering something in the girl's ear. She giggled and the boy leaned even closer. The girl took a step back, bringing her into the light of the torches. Her hair shone with an unmistakable pale golden gleam. Just as Lily registered this, the boy succeeded in bringing their lips together.

Something roared in Lily's chest, as though the Gryffindor lion itself was trying to claw its way out. This shouldn't be happening! Cassiopeia should _not_ be kissing this boy! Not the Slytherin Seeker! Not on their first date! Not on Valentine's Day! Not ever! Lily felt the way her father had described feeling when he had seen her mum kissing—_oh no, don't go there_.

But of course Lily _had_ gone there, and she had been in a situation like this once before. _No, no, no, no, no! This can _not_ be happening!_ She shook her head violently. Cassiopeia was her _best friend_! And she was two years younger than Lily! This was—this was—a misdirected emotion, that was all, brought on by Lily's current lack of a girlfriend. It would pass if Lily just ignored it. It had to. Because Lily simply _could not_ have those kind of feelings for Cassiopeia.

Lily turned back down the corridor. Cassiopeia and Urquart's kiss had lasted only a second, but she simply couldn't pass by them right now without feeling incredibly awkwrad. She would go and find Dawn and Marica in the library. And she wouldn't mention this to anyone. Ever.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia lay on her stomach on Lily's bed, blond head hanging over the edge as she watched Marica fix her hair from upside down.

"Your hair looks just fine as it is," said Lily, who was sitting beside Cassiopeia on the bed. "It's not like there's anything special happening today."

"I just want it to look good," said Marica, frowning at her black locks.

"Who do you want it to look good for?" said Dawn teasingly.

"No one!" said Marica, cheeks flushing. "I'm just sick of my hair looking like some sort of overgrown shrub. Maybe I should straighten it."

"Maybe I should curl mine," said Cassiopeia.

"_What?"_ said the other girls.

Cassiopeia giggled. "I would never do that. I was just trying to show you how ridiculous it would be if you straightened your hair, Marica. Mine is straight, yours is curly, that's how it should be; we wouldn't look like us otherwise."

"I suppose you're right," conceded Marica. "I just wish it was easier to manage."

"You could cut it short like Lily's," offered Paloma.

Each of the girls took a moment to picture that, and then burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright, I'm done," said Marica, turning away from the mirror. "Are you happy?"

"Yes!" said Dawn. "Now we can get some breakfast!"

The others laughed and Cassiopeia flipped the right way up. Lily stood and offered her hand to Cassiopeia. She immediately wished she hadn't. That tingle in her fingers was definitely _not_ supposed to be there.

"Let's _go_!" said Dawn impatiently, clutching at her stomach. "I'm going to collapse before we reach the Great Hall!"

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia was sitting by herself in her favorite chair in the Gryffindor common room. This was unusual, as she was nearly always with Lily; but she had just gotten back from being out with Damian, and Lily tended to make herself scarce at such times.

Cassiopeia liked Damian. He was smart and witty and had a sharp sense of humor, but he was also good natured and didn't feel the need to talk someone's ear off every second of the day. She hadn't kissed him since that first time though; it just felt strange.

Footsteps sounded behind her and Cassiopeia sat up on her knees turning around to face the boys' staircase.

"Hello, Louis."

Louis jumped.

"You startled me."

Cassiopeia giggled. "So I gathered. Where are you headed?" she added, taking in his appearance, which was even more coiffed than normal.

"Er—nowhere," said Louis evasively. "Just studying for my N.E.."

"In the library?" asked Cassiopeia innocently.

"Well, yes..."

"Where Marica currently is?"

"Oh—er—is she?"

"Why don't you just tell her you like her?"

"Pardon?"

"Marica. Tell her you like her already."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Louis, his cheeks turning bright pink.

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes. "Louis, give it up, I've known for ages."

Louis eyed her for a moment before saying, "Is it really that obvious?"

"To me it is," said Cassiopeia, shrugging. "You never seemed to have problems with girls before, just ask her out."

"It's different with Marica!" Louis protested.

"How so?"

"She's Lily's friend, and I've known her for years, and—and—I really like her! It's harder when you really like someone!" He buried his face in his hands. "What if she turns me down?"

Cassiopeia patted him on the shoulder. "Has a girl ever turned you down before?"

"Well, no..." said Louis. "But..."

"Why should Marica be any different?"

"But she _is_ different!" said Louis. "Don't you see! And she's always annoyed with me! I can never do anything right around her!"

Cassiopeia laughed. "It only seems that way because you like her Louis. And she only acts that way because she likes you."

"It's not that—wait, what did you say?" said Louis.

"I said she only acts that way because she likes you."

"You—you really think so?" said Louis.

"I was right about you liking her, wasn't I?"

Louis swallowed. "But…but... Cassie, what should I do?"

Cassiopeia giggled. "You realize you're a nearly eighteen-year-old heartthrob asking for love advice from a barely fifteen-year-old who's still on her first boyfriend."

Louis grinned sheepishly.

"I think you should tell her you like her," said Cassiopeia firmly, "and stop torturing yourself."

Louis ran a hand through his sleek blond hair.

"No, no. I—I can't. I don't—I wouldn't know what to say. It could totally ruin our friendship...the whole group dynamic... I don't even...it's too complicated! I've never even had a truly steady girlfriend before! Please, Cassie, don't mention this to anyone. Maybe I'll tell her eventually, but I'm just not ready yet. Please."

Cassiopeia smiled gently, amused by the usually confident Louis nervous and fumbling. "I still think you should tell her, but I promise, I won't say I word."

Louis smiled in relief. "Thanks, Cassie. You're the best."

*****BWST*****

"Hi, Lily," said Cassiopeia, perching herself on the arm of the chair Lily was sitting in.

Lily smiled at her, firmly ignoring the way her stomach wriggled at the sight of her best friend. "Hi."

Cassiopeia leaned forward and Lily could smell her unique cedar and jasmine smell. Her sheet of long, pale hair swung over her shoulder, just begging to be stroked.

_No, no, no!_ Thought Lily furiously. _Merlin, I _really_ need a girlfriend._

"You looked lonely, sitting over here all by yourself."

Lily shrugged. "Marica's at her Wizard's Chess Club meeting, I don't know where Louis is, or Paloma, and you and Dawn were at Quidditch practice. How was it by the way?"

"I was good," said Cassiopeia, flashing her dazzling smile. "Your cousin better watch his back."

Lily laughed. "Dawn's sure to be please then. Where is she anyway?"

"Down on the second floor snogging River Thurshall."

"_What?" _spluttered Lily. _"_Are they—since when—?"

"Since about...fifteen minutes ago," said Cassiopeia, checking her watch.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just...I never even knew they were interested in each other."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Neither did I."

"That's saying something."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes in a very Lily-like fashion. "I don't keep tabs on everyone's love life."

"No," agreed Lily, "you're just very observant."

Cassiopeia dipped her head in acquiescence, supporting herself with a hand on Lily's shoulder, which Lily did her best to ignore.

"I guess we know why they're both for letting their team members date members of other Quidditch teams," said Cassiopeia with a smile and a soft tinkling laugh.

Lily smiled back, but it was forced. She didn't like to be reminded that Cassiopeia was seeing someone.

_I really, _really_ need a girlfriend!_

*****BWST*****

Lily was on the lookout for hot girls. It felt a little weird to be searching out a girlfriend—it reminded her slightly of Tamzen—but she needed to get her brain off of this weird obsession with Cassiopeia. She supposed maybe it was natural for lesbian girls to go through a phase of liking their best friend, but she rather wished it would stop.

She really didn't know how to go about this "finding a girlfriend" thing though; she'd never asked anyone out before. Never mind the fact that she didn't know who to ask. What girls in this school even leaned in her direction?

Lily decided to ask Louis; he'd had nearly every straight girl in the school fawning over him at some point or another, so he'd likely know which ones weren't straight.

*****BWST*****

"Louis, can I ask you a question?"

Her cousin looked up from his textbook. "Of course. I might even give you an answer."

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes at him.

"I was wondering—er—if you happened to know of any other lesbian girls at Hogwarts."

Louis raised his eyebrows at her. "On the hunt for a girlfriend, are you?"

"Yeah...kind of," said Lily, feeling foolish.

Louis grinned at her. "Nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you've come to the right place. I have a friend you might like to meet." He stood, closing his textbook with a snap.

"What? Now?"

"No time like the present," said Louis cheerfully. "Come on."

Lily followed Louis out of the Gryffindor common room and all the way down to the main floor.

"Louis, where are we going?" she asked, jogging slightly to keep up with his long strides.

"You'll see," her cousin said impishly, pushing open the door that led down to the dungeons.

Lily huffed and followed after him, pulling her robes more closely around her against the dungeon chill.

Finally Louis stopped outside a door that Lily recognized as leading to one of the spare potions labs. This one was reserved for N.E.W.T students and Lily had used it herself a couple times this year.

Louis opened the door and stuck his head inside.

"Ah, good, we're in luck."

Lily followed Louis into the room and looked around. There was only one other student present; a girl with long brown hair swept into an untidy ponytail who was staring intently at a bubbling cauldron which was emitting a faint, purplish smoke. As they watched the girl pulled a piece of parchment toward her and scribbled down some notes.

Louis rapped on the door frame.

"Kat, are you busy?"

The brown-haired girl started slightly and looked up with a mildly pained expression on her face.

"What does it look like?"

Louis chuckled. "What are you working on?"

The girl, Kat, looked at him skeptically. "Since when do you care about Potions?"

"Since never," said Louis, shrugging, "but my cousin Lily is a different story."

Kat squinted past Louis, huffed, grabbed a pair of glasses of the desk beside her, shoved them onto her nose, and looked again.

"Are you interested in Potions, then?" she asked curiously.

Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, very much so. It's my favorite subject."

Kat spared a last glance at her cauldron and then stood up, smiling and extending her hand to Lily.

"I'm Kat, Kathryn Dodge, seventh year Ravenclaw."

Lily smiled back, taking the other girl's hand. "Lily Potter, sixth year Gryffindor. What _are_ you working on?"

"It's supposed to be a modification on the Draught of Living Death, but I'm afraid I'm not getting it right."

"Let me see it," said Lily excitedly. "Maybe I can help."

The two girls hurried back to the table and neither of them noticed when Louis left the room.

*****BWST*****

Lily enjoyed spending time in the potions lab with Kat; it was nice to finally find someone who loved Potions as much as she did. She didn't really feel _attracted _to the Ravenclaw per say, but she figured that that was bound to change once they started dating. Of course, she had to ask her out first.

"Kat?" said Lily as she passed a vial of powdered viper fang too the other girl. "Are you planning on going to the Slytherin/Hufflepuff Quidditch match this Saturday?"

"No," said Kat as she measured out the viper fang. "I'm not really that into Quidditch. I usually only go when Ravenclaw is playing."

Lily laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't like Quidditch much either." Lily explained. "And most people look at me like I have three heads when I say that."

"Me too!" said Kat, laughing. "So, if you don't like Quidditch, why did you ask me if I was going?"

"'Cause I thought you might want to join me on a little walk around the castle on Saturday instead."

Kat eyed her. "Lily Potter, are you asking me out?"

"Er—yes?" said Lily, smiling slightly.

"Well then, I accept, said Kat, "on one condition."

"And what is that?" asked Lily.

"That we don't set foot outside." said Kat. "I _despise_ the cold."

Lily laughed out loud again. "Sounds perfect!"

*****BWST*****

"Where have you been?" Marica demanded sourly as Lily came in through the portrait hole.

"In the potions lab with Kat," said Lily. "Is something the matter?"

"You ought to be working on your homework, not snogging your girlfriend."

"For your information I _was_ working on my homework," said Lily. "Kat was helping me with Potions."

"Yeah, right," said Marica skeptically. "Like you need help with Potions."

"Even I have a lot of room to improve," said Lily. "And Kat's the best student in the seventh year N.E.W.T class."

"Hmph," snorted Marica. "Some date."

"I never said it was a date," said Lily. "What's got you all bothered?"

"Nothing," said Marica. "Where're Dawn and Cassie? They should be studying too."

"They're at Quidditch practice."

"Hmph," said Marica again. "And then what? Off to snog their opposing team boyfriends?"

"What's _with_ you, Marica?" asked Lily.

"Nothing," snapped Marica. "I just think you three should be paying more attention to your studies and less attention to your boyfriends and girlfriend." She snapped her book closed. "I'm going to the library."

*****BWST*****

"Do you have any idea what's bugging Marica?" Dawn asked Lily in a low voice, glancing across the breakfast table at their sullen friend.

"No clue," said Lily, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Cassie?"

Cassiopeia bobbed her head. "She's jealous because all of us have boyfriends or girlfriends and she doesn't. She feels left out."

"How do you know this stuff, Cassie?" asked Lily.

Cassiopeia shrugged. "As you said before, I'm observant."

"Maybe we should find Marica a boyfriend!" said Dawn enthusiastically.

Cassiopeia shook her head quickly, glancing at Louis out of the corner of her eye. "No, I don't think that's such a good idea. You can't just go out and find a boyfriend just because you want one. It doesn't work that way."

"I suppose you're right," Dawn conceded, digging into her third helping of hash browns.

Lily just stared fixedly at her own hash browns, which were growing cold on her plate.

**AN: Again a chapter that only covers one month. I keept meaning to have them cover 2, and then they just got too long by the end of one. Oh well, things come to a head in various arenas fairly soon. Tell me what you think so far, huh? ;)**

**-SQ**


	35. Chapter 35: Aurore

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. It covers a **_**bit**_** more than a single month. And some exciting things happen (at least I think so).**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: A new OC is introduced, who is purely my own creation, but the world from which she comes, and most everything in it is not mine, and never will be.**

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Aurore**

Lily came back from her Wednesday night potions study session/date with Kat to find Cassiopeia curled up in her favorite armchair by the fire, reading a book in Spanish.

"Where's Damian?" she asked curiously. Or at least she hoped it was curiously, rather than resentfully.

Cassiopeia shrugged without looking up from her book.

"Don't you usually go out with him in the evenings?" asked Lily in a carefully neutral tone, eyes focused on the silver bracelet on her wrist instead of on her friend.

Cassiopeia glanced up at her. "Mmm, not so much anymore."

"Why not?"

Cassiopeia shrugged again. "We didn't plan anything."

"But aren't you two together?"

"No," said Cassiopeia, "we're just friends."

"What?" said Lily, meeting Cassiopeia's eyes for the first time. "Since when?"

"It just worked out that way," said Cassiopeia, finally sliding her bookmark into her book.

"Oh..." said Lily.

She wasn't quite sure how to feel about this piece of information. On the one hand she felt like singing, on the other hand she felt like burying her head in her pillow and never coming out. She settled for changing the topic.

"Er—what are you reading?"

Cassiopeia held the fat book up for Lily to see.

"Don Quixote."

"What's it about?"

"A man in Spain who reads so many books of chivalry that he goes insane and thinks that he's a knight errant and goes on all sorts of adventures, like attacking windmills because he thinks they're giants."

Lily laughed. "That _is_ crazy!"

"Hey, I know that story!" said Dawn, bouncing through the portrait hole.

"You do?" said Lily incredulously; Dawn wasn't known for her prolific reading.

"Yeah, there's a musical about it: _Man of la Mancha_."

"Ah," said Lily, smiling, "that explains it."

*****BWST*****

With all of the stress going on in her life—these ridiculous misplaced feelings for Cassiopeia, her slightly awkward relationship with Kat, the strangeness of Dawn dating River, Louis acting oddly, and Marica's continued bad temper—Lily felt she deserved a break _somewhere_, and so was quite pleased when spring decided to make itself known during the second week of March.

"_This_ is the kind of weather I enjoy," said Lily as she and Kat took a break from the dank, musty dungeons to stroll through the sunlit grounds.

"Me too," agreed Kat, turning her face toward the sunlight and closing her eyes. "Warm and sunny, nary a cloud in the sky."

"I can't wait for it to be warm enough not to have to wear a jacket," said Lily. "Late spring is definitely my favorite season."

"Mine too," said Kat.

"Isn't it great that we have so much in common?" said Lily. "I mean, we like the same subjects, the same music, the same weather, the same fashion, the same foods..."

"Yeah..." said Kat absently. "Er—Lily, I actually wanted to ask you something."

"What?" said Lily, stopping on the path and looking at her girlfriend.

"The thing is," said Kat, "I really like working on Potions with you and talking with you and things, and I'm glad Louis introduced us. But there really isn't much romance about our relationship, is there? And, well, I was wondering if you'd mind awfully if I went on a date with someone else."

Lily stared at her.

"What?"

"Jessica Blueridge asked me out yesterday," said Kat. "And I really want to say yes. I, well, I like her."

"Oh," said Lily, eyes dropping from her girlfriend's (ex-girlfriend's?) face to the silver threads encircling her wrist. "Er—okay. I—no, it doesn't bother me."

And really it didn't. In spite of her best efforts Lily hadn't ever really felt about Kat the way someone should feel about their girlfriend. In a way it was a relief not to have to pretend to like the other girl in that way anymore. In the way in which she liked Cassiopeia. _No, no, no!_

Kat's face broke into a relieved grin.

"Thanks. We'll still keep working on potions together, yeah?"

"Of course," said Lily.

"Good, good. I'm going to go find Jessica now. See you around!"

Lily watched her walk away and sighed. So much for finding the perfect girlfriend. She guessed you really couldn't just decide to have a girlfriend or boyfriend, it didn't work that way, Cassiopeia was right. Well, she usually was. And Cassiopeia was the last person Lily should be thinking about right now she told herself severely. What Lily needed now was a trip to the kitchens; maybe the house elves had some leftover chocolate pasties from breakfast.

*****BWST*****

"Lily," said River with mild concern as he, Dawn, Marica, Louis, Hugo, Hugo's girlfriend Rhia, Cassiopeia, and Lily sat by the lake on the last weekend in March, enjoying the noonday sun, the only time of day Lily deemed it warm enough to venture outside, "is everything okay? You've seemed kind of down ever since you broke up with Dodge."

Lily shrugged. "I'm fine. I just can't wait for the warm weather to really be here."

River smiled and Dawn giggled from her seat in his lap.

"Don't worry," said Louis, raising himself slightly on his elbows. "Spring is well on its way, trust me."

Lily looked at her cousin and saw the telltale corner of a handkerchief poking out of his breast pocket.

"Already, huh?"

Louis nodded.

"I never understood why your potions don't help more than they do," said Marica, looking up from her Astronomy notes.

Louis shrugged. "The healers tell us it's because of our Veela blood. I suppose when you're graced with such charm and poise and sophistication _something_ must be taken in compensation."

Marica swatted him on the head.

"My hair!" Louis protested.

"Prat," said Marica, turning back to her notes.

Cassiopeia and Louis shared a look that Lily couldn't comprehend before Cassiopeia looked around at Lily.

"How did your date go this morning?"

Lily shrugged. She had had a private brunch this morning with a fifth year Hufflepuff in a cozy little room next to the Hufflepuff common room. It had been her third such date with various students in the weeks since Kat had broken up with her, but nothing had come from any of them.

"Kind of boring actually," said Lily. "We didn't really have anything to talk about. Or at least she didn't do any talking. I hate to stereotype, but she was so very..._Hufflepuff_."

"Why are you trying so hard to find a girlfriend?" asked Cassiopeia, leaning over to tuck a strand of dark red hair back behind Lily's ear (she had let it grow out some and it now reached her jawbone in some places).

Lily shivered slightly at the contact, trying in vain to convince herself it was merely due to the chill in the air. _Because of you_, said a voice in her head. _I'm trying not to think about _you_!_

"I'm not," she lied a bit defensively. "Louis goes on dates all the time and he's not looking for a girlfriend." Louis shifted uncomfortably at this statement and avoided looking at Marica, whose eyes had narrowed slightly. Lily continued obliviously. "He just does it to have fun."

"Yes," consented Cassiopeia. "But honestly, I don't see you having very much fun."

"There's nothing wrong with being single you know, Lils," said River.

"Hmph," said Lily. "Coming from the boy with his girlfriend sitting in his lap. And besides, I never said there was. There's nothing wrong with dating either."

"And I never said that," said River calmly with a very slight frown.

Cassiopeia lowered herself so that her head was resting on Lily's knee. Lily really, really wished she wouldn't, but she couldn't bring herself to move away. She rubbed at her silver thread bracelet with her thumb, something which had become a stress-relieving habit at some point over the last three years.

"This conversation is too serious," proclaimed Hugo, standing up and stretching. "Let's go sneak into the school orchards and climb the trees."

Lily shook her head. "And get caught and put in detention? No thanks."

"Aw, Hagrid wouldn't put us in detention."

"But anyone else who caught us would," said Cassiopeia. "Perhaps I'll go with you when there's actually fruit to eat."

Hugo grinned. "Not quite so far removed from Slytherin after all, are you?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I never claimed I was."

Hugo looked at Dawn and River. "What about you two."

"Naw," said Dawn, grinning, "we're quite comfortable here."

"Louis?"

Louis made to rise, but Marica, without looking up from her notes, kicked his legs out from under him.

"I am not spending my afternoon carrying you up to the hospital wing because you were fool enough to climb some fool trees in a fool orchard. And neither is anyone else."

Louis scowled and rubbed his knee, but he didn't attempt to stand again.

"Alright, suit yourself," said Rhia with a very Slytherin grin. "More fun for us, eh, Hugo?" She grabbed his hand and he gave her an equally mischievous smile. "See you lot later!"

Lily watched them go, shaking her head. "Slytherins. I'll never understand them..."

"But I'll always love them," finished Cassiopeia with a smile.

*****BWST*****

Lily was eating a breakfast of oatmeal and toast when the Potter family owl swooped in through the window with the other post owls and landed in front of her. This in of itself was not unusual, her parents wrote to her fairly regularly; what was strange was that it was Albus's handwriting rather than her mother's or father's in which the envelope was addressed.

Curious, Lily put down her glass of milk and slit open the letter.

_Lily and Louis,_

_I thought you'd want to know that Teddy and Victoire's baby's coming early. Victoire went into labor last night and Mum and Dad went to the hospital to be with her and Teddy. I don't know if there are going to be complications or anything yet and Mum and Dad didn't want to write you till they knew more, but I can tell people are pretty worried because the baby wasn't supposed to come until the end of the month and I knew you'd be furious if you felt that no one had bothered to tell you anything. They said they'd owl me and James when the baby's born and we'll go down to the hospital then too. You have to stay in school, obviously, but someone will write to you after the baby's born I'm sure._

_Albus_

Lily read the letter, dimly acknowledging her brother's atrocious letter writing skills which were the reason why he hardly ever wrote them.

"Lily?" said Cassiopeia, putting down her own glass and leaning over toward her friend. "What is it?"

"Victoire's baby's coming. It's not due for another month but she went into labor last night."

Louis started so violently that he would have sent his entire plate crashing to the floor if Marica hadn't caught it and replaced it on the table a safe distance from his elbow.

"_What?"_

"Victoire went into labor last night," said Lily again. "She—"

"I heard what you said," said Louis impatiently. "But the baby's not due for another month yet! Is she okay? What else does the letter say? Let me see it!"

Lily handed the letter over to her cousin and he quickly read the contents.

"Blast Albus and his awful letters!" he said, throwing the parchment back down on the table. "I want to know what's going on!"

"I don't think he really knows much either, Lou," said Lily, putting a soothing hand on his arm. "I know you're worried, I am too, but there's really nothing we can do but wait until someone sends us another letter." She shook her head. "I don't know anything about babies. I don't even know how early one month early really is."

"There are some risks," said Cassiopeia. "But the baby is almost sure to survive, and will most likely grow up healthy and normal. The more premature a baby is the more at risk it is for certain complications, but at eight months most necessary things are already developed."

Lily stared at her. "How do you know that?"

"I've read up on it," said Cassiopeia. "I was born nearly two months premature."

"Really?" said Louis. "I didn't know that."

Cassiopeia nodded. "It's why I was so fragile as a child. And why I'm so small too. I had to stay in the hospital for quite a while, but there were no lasting detrimental complications. There shouldn't be for your niece or nephew either."

Lily smiled at her. "Thanks Cassie." She looked back at her brother's disorganized letter. "I hope we hear from them again soon."

*****BWST*****

Both Lily and Louis had trouble concentrating in their classes that day. Nearly every single teacher had to tell Lily off for letting her focus wander, even her Potions professor. The letter they were so anxiously awaiting finally arrived at dinner that evening. They snatched it up eagerly, roast chicken forgotten, and tore it open.

_Lily and Louis,_

_Mum and Dad decided that since I had taken the "liberty" of writing to you this morning I could also write to you now. I wasn't there for Victoire's labor, but apparently it was pretty intense, so I'm not complaining. The baby's a girl, not a boy like the Healers said before, and she's so tiny! The healer says she's not really, that she's still big enough not to be in any substantial danger, but to me she seems like one of your old dolls, Lily. They've just taken her away to the intensive care nursery and Teddy and Victoire are nearly frantic, but the Healers assure us that she's going to be fine. She'll have to remain here for a while, something about her lungs being very fragile and not being able to eat properly on her own yet. They say it doesn't look like she'll have any brain damage or anything though, so that's good. Mum and Aunt Fleur have absolutely forbidden you two from missing school to come down, but she says that they'll send for you this weekend._

_See you then,_

_Albus_

Lily looked up from the letter into Cassiopeia's questioning blue/gray eyes.

"The baby's a girl. Al says she's doing alright, but they have her in the intensive care nursery. She'll survive and everything, but they have to wait and see if there are any more complications."

Cassiopeia nodded. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Think of what blood she has in her. Black, Weasley, Lupin, Delacour, not exactly weakling families."

Lily smiled. "You're right. Weasley women aren't known for their submissiveness."

"Neither are Black women," said Cassiopeia.

They looked at each other.

"In fact," said Cassiopeia. "I'd say we're probably the most laid back women the Black and Weasley bloodlines have seen in a good long time."

Lily laughed in agreement.

"And it still isn't a good idea to make either of you angry," said Louis.

Dawn and Marica nodded fervently.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Louis were anxious and restless all week. Lily was completely distracted from her schoolwork and friends and Louis was liable to snap off the head of anyone who tried to carry on a civilized conversation with him. The good only thing about worrying and thinking about Teddy and Victoire's new baby was that it kept Lily's mind far too busy and distracted to dwell on Cassiopeia.

Friday evening found Lily, Louis, and Hugo who had managed to convince his family and Hogwarts to let him come too, waiting with their weekend bags in front of the fireplace in the headmaster's office.

Just as Lily glanced at the clock for the sixteenth time (she had been keeping track), the headmaster reentered the room with the bowl of Floo Powder.

"Alright," he said, holding it out to the three eager students. "This is a special privilege due to family circumstances; don't expect to be leaving the school every weekend just because you feel like it." The three shook their heads impatiently and the headmaster's expression softened. "Now go on and see the newest addition to your family."

Louis took a sizable pinch of Floo Powder and threw it on the fire, which flared up tall and emerald green. The three cousins stepped together into the blaze and Lily said clearly, "Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."

The three were whirled around dizzyingly for several seconds and then deposited in a rather undignified manner on the hearth in the reception area of Saint Mungo's, where a rather sleep-deprived looking Harry Potter was waiting to meet them.

"How are they?" blurted Louis before anyone else had time to say anything.

Harry's tired face broke into a smile. "They're both fine. Victoire's exhausted, but already getting back to her old self, and Aurore, that's the baby, is doing well. She's still in the intensive care nursery, but the Healers say that everything points to her becoming a normal, healthy child once she's ready to leave. Maybe a bit smaller than other children, and children who are born premature are sometimes more likely to develop attention deficit disorders and the like, but there has been nothing of serious concern."

Lily smiled at her father in relief. "That's really great, Dad, I'm so glad."

"Would you like to see her?" he asked.

"Victoire or the baby?" asked Hugo.

"Both," said Harry with a smile.

"Can we really see the baby?" asked Lily, her eyes lighting up.

"Yes," said Harry smiling. "You can't touch her, but you can see her."

"Can we see my sister first?" asked Louis, his face white enough to show off the usually invisible dusting of freckles across the bridge of his finely shaped nose.

Harry nodded. "Of course. I'm warning you though, it's your neck your risking. She's still a little...hormonal."

*****BWST*****

"A little hormonal" was an understatement. Victoire seemed to be her normal self when they first entered. But when Louis went up to hug his sister she burst into tears all over him, which quickly turned into a rage over the fact that he didn't write her nearly enough. After contenting himself with the fact that his sister was in as good heath as could be expected under the circumstances, Louis and the others beat a hasty retreat to the nursery.

Aurore _was_ tiny. Small and fair with pink cheeks and tiny pink fingers and toes, the three teenagers were utterly captivated by the baby from the first moment they saw her. She was lying in an enclosed glass crib which made her look a little bit like a museum item on display, and a tube was attached to her so that she could be fed without being taken out of the sterile environment. But the round blue eyes which looked up at them were curious and intelligent, and the little chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm which the healers said indicated that they should soon be able to remove the spell which assisted her breathing. In Lily's eyes, and, she could see, in Louis's and Hugo's as well, Aurore Delacour Lupin was absolutely perfect.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Louis, and Hugo spent the entire weekend at the hospital with Louis's and Lily's parents, Victoire and Teddy, and Aurore. Hugo's parents came to visit too, as did Albus, James, Dominique, and the rest of their rather large family. The three Hogwarts students were most disappointed to have to return to school on Monday, but at the same time were very excited to tell their friends all about the newest addition to their family.

"Oh Cassie, she's perfect, absolutely perfect. People say that newborn babies are wrinkled and ugly, but Aurore is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Cassiopeia decided not to point out that the baby probably hadn't been nearly so lovely in the first few hours after her birth.

"But she's so fragile," Lily continued. "She looks as though a breath of wind could shatter her. Actually," she said thoughtfully, considering her friend. "She reminds me a bit of you."

"That makes sense," said Cassiopeia, "since I was premature as well. It should also remind you not to always judge by appearances," she added with an impish smile.

The only explanation for what happened next was that Lily was so heady with relief that both her cousin and her new niece were alright, and joy in the memory of little Aurore that she didn't know what she was doing. That the influx of happy, giddy emotions after several months of near depression had thrown her head and hormones out of whack. Because when Cassiopeia smiled that adorable, irresistible smile at her, Lily's heart did a wild somersault inside her chest and her arms reached out almost of their own accord and grabbed the shoulders of the girl sitting in front of her on the bed and she pressed her lips, slightly dry and chapped from so much talking, to Cassiopeia's thin, rose petal mouth.

And oh _Merlin_, if this was kissing Lily was certain she'd never truly kissed anyone before. It was warm and cool and firm and soft and absolutely, dizzyingly _delicious_. She felt like she could go on kissing Cassiopeia forever. _Kissing Cassiopeia..._

Lily jerked away so suddenly that Cassiopeia was thrown down violently on the bed. Lily's hands darted to her mouth as she choked in horror.

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh SHIT!_ _What had she just done?_

Cassiopeia was still lying flat on her back on her bed, mouth open, blue-gray eyes wide with shock.

"I—I—didn't mean that!" said Lily. "It's not what you think! I don't—I was just—so happy and— I—I have to go now!" and she whirled from the room and fled to the safety of her own dormitory where she prayed that just this one time Cassiopeia would not follow.

**AN: Yes, yes, yes, I know, another cliffie, and now you all want to kill me. But it the scene wouldn't have the same impact if it wasn't the end of the chapter! But at least now you get to go right on to the next chapter without having to wait (unless you have something else to do right now, in which case it sucks to be you :P)**

**Aurore was born premature because I needed to have something more happen before the kiss so that the chapter was long enough and so that we got into April. But I like it. Tell me if you do? You know how ;)**

**-SQ**


	36. Chapter 36: Observation

**Author's Note: Okay, I know you probably just want to read the damn chapter, especially after how the last chapter ended. You might be a bit disappointed on that front, but another plot line progresses nicely, so...yeah. Read on!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Although this story contains a good number of OCs whom I've made up, the world they live in, and the other characters they interact with are STILL not mine.**

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Observation**

Lily found that it was easier for a sixth year to avoid a fourth year than it had been for a third year to avoid a first year. Maybe it was because fourth years had busier schedules than first years, maybe it was because sixth years were cleverer than third years, or maybe it was because, this time, Cassiopeia didn't mind being avoided.

Lily hadn't intentionally set out to avoid her best friend after the...incident. But when she saw her the next day she found she couldn't talk to her, couldn't meet her eyes, couldn't act like nothing had happened. And the only thing worse than having to pretend that nothing had happened would be talking about what had happened. So Lily had chosen a seat in between Paloma and her Alondra at breakfast, and then hurried off to her first class, claiming that she had to clarify something with the professor.

Lily expected to find Cassiopeia waiting outside of her classroom door after class, but she didn't. She didn't know whether to be relived or hurt.

Lily hated the fact that she had lost her best friend, and it hurt even more knowing that it was her own fault. It hurt as much as it had when she thought she had lost her big brother, and this time she didn't have anyone to blame but herself. And the worst part was, those blasted _feelings_ were still there.

*****BWST*****

"Lily," said Marica one evening as they were getting ready for bed in their dormitory. "Is something wrong? You've seemed kind of distant lately."

"No," said Lily, shaking her head and pulling on her nightgown. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just really busy with my classes and everything."

"Has something happened?" said Dawn. "With the baby?"

"What?" said Lily. "With Aurore? No! Aurore's doing fine. The healers say she should be able to go home by the end of the month."

"Oh, that's wonderful," said Marica, beaming, "you and Louis must be so relieved."

"We are," said Lily, smiling back, both at the thought of little Aurore and with relief at the change of topic.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia's natural reservedness was an asset to the situation as well. While Lily had effectively nullified the time she spent with Cassiopeia one-on-one and outside of the common room or the Great Hall, the fact remained that the younger girl was friends with Dawn, Marica, and Louis as well. This had, as Marica had noticed, the unintentional effect of distancing herself from her other friends as well.

Their usual study group, consisting of Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, Dawn, and often Louis, had not changed. Lily did her best to keep up normal conversation with her other friends while not interacting directly with Cassiopeia. This often ended up in her doing more listening and observing than talking, and as she did so she began to notice things that had slipped past her before.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Cassiopeia were all gathered around their usual table with their books open in front of them. Someone settled themselves into the vacant space on the couch next to Marica and the girls looked up.

"Well it's about time," snapped Marica irritably. "You were supposed to be here half an hour ago."

"Sorry," said Louis in a hoarse voice. "I got held up."

Marica's irritated scowl slipped for a moment and a look of concern passed over her face.

"Where have you been?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nowhere important."

"If it's nowhere important then why are you late?" she demanded.

"'Cause I'm an idiot," said Louis.

Lily had called her cousin an idiot dozens of times, but something about the way he said it now made her bite her lip. Obviously it had a similar effect on Marica, because her tone softened slightly and she said, "Don't be silly. Would I have asked an idiot to help me with my Transfiguration homework? Now if you haven't got any other dimwitted remarks to make let's get going."

Lily turned her attention back to her Care of Magical Creatures essay. It was a very interesting assignment in which students had to argue for or against private ownership of creatures classified as XXXX. She became completely absorbed in the work and was only brought back to reality by a harsh coughing from the other side of the table.

"Louis?" With instincts born of almost seventeen years as Louis Weasley's cousin Lily shot out of her chair and to her cousin's side.

But someone else had made it there first. Marica had one arm around Louis's shoulders, the other hand rubbing firm circles on his back, instructing him to "breath, Merlin damn it!"

After a minute Louis's coughing subsided, though he was now ghostly pale, and Marica conjured a goblet of water for him to drink.

"Thanks," he croaked.

"You're wheezing," said Marica softly, pressing a surprisingly gentle hand to Louis's chest.

Color rose to Louis's cheeks and he looked at the floor.

"_Louis..."_ said Marica warningly.

"I was late because I was in the hospital wing," said Louis, still staring at the floor. "I was outside for Care of Magical Creatures and I had an asthma attack."

"Louis!" exclaimed all three girls at the same time.

Marica shook him gently. "You fool! What are you doing here?"

"I promised you I'd come," said Louis.

"Who are you, Cyrano de Bergerac?"

Everyone looked at Dawn.

"Who?"

"A character in a play. He ends up dying at the end because he goes to meet the girl he loves even though he's been severely wounded."

"No one is going to be dying around here any time soon," said Lily firmly.

Marica closed her eyes. "Merlin grant me patience, Louis Weasley. Your health is more important than our study session!"

A smile crept onto Louis's face. "Yeah?"

Marica smacked him softly on the head. "Idiot," she said almost fondly. "If you're sure you're not going to keel over on us, let's get back to work."

The two bent their heads, one dark, one light, over their work once more and Lily watched them curiously for a few more seconds. Could it be? Louis and Marica...? Well, stranger things had happened.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia gazed down at her textbook without seeing it. Next to her Louis and Marica were engaged in yet another unconscious display of their affection for each other, but for perhaps the first time in her life Cassiopeia couldn't interest herself in the observation of others. Lily was avoiding her, that much was obvious, and the reason had something to do with the kiss, you didn't have to be a genius to figure that out either, but what Cassiopeia wanted to know was why? She wasn't used to being confused about other peoples' feelings and it frustrated her not to be able to deduce what was going on inside the other girl's head. There were several possibilities, she thought logically: Lily could be appalled at what she had done, not attracted to Cassiopeia in the least and disgusted with herself. Or she could be afraid that Cassiopeia would read something more into an action that hadn't been anything more than a spur-of-the-moment mistake. Or she could have thought she liked Cassiopeia like that, only to find that kissing her wasn't at all what she expected; or, on the flip side, she could have _not_ thought she liked her like that, and then found that she enjoyed kissing her. Or Lily could have liked her all along, but was afraid that Cassiopeia didn't return her feelings and so now wouldn't want to be friends with her anymore. The last one was absurd of course, not because Lily couldn't feel that way, because she very well might, but because Cassiopeia would never feel that way.

Of course, that was the other problem, perhaps even more frustrating and confusing that the first, how _did_ Cassiopeia feel? Yes, she had always known she had no preference of boys over girls or vice versa, but she had never given romance much thought in the first place. No, that wasn't true; she had given it plenty of thought in the abstract sense, but in the personal sense, very little. And though she had noticed that the vibes she had been picking up from Lily lately had changed slightly, she had never expected the older girl to do something like kiss her out of the blue like that. Another option for why Lily was avoiding her occurred to her; perhaps Lily simply didn't know how to react. Well, Cassiopeia could certainly relate.

*****BWST*****

"Hogsmeade tomorrow!" sang Dawn happily, nearly skipping as they left their last class on Friday afternoon and headed toward the Great Hall for dinner.

Lily rolled her eyes and resisted the automatic urge to exchange a _look_ with Cassiopeia, who was walking on the other side of the group, having joined them on her own way to dinner.

"Yes Dawn, very good, we _do_ go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," said Marica.

Dawn stuck out her tongue at her friend. "Aren't you excited?"

"I suppose," said Marica with a shrug. "It's not like it's anything we haven't seen before."

"I hear Honeydukes has come out with a new line of sweets," said Dawn.

Marica snorted. "That hardly counts."

To tell the truth Lily was rather looking forward to this month's Hogsmeade weekend. The weather was gorgeous and she was itching to get out of the castle. Dawn, River, Marica, Louis, and Cassiopeia were all planning on spending the day together as usual, but Lily had accepted Hugo's invitation to go with him and his friends. Usually Lily wouldn't relish the idea of spending time with her cousin when he was acting his role of reigning King of Slytherin, but today she had jumped at the excuse not to spend the day in awkward silence with Cassiopeia. She still couldn't bring herself to speak to her (ex?)best friend, and a Hogsmeade outing with Dawn and River, Marica and Louis, and Lily and Cassiopeia felt a little too close to a triple date for Lily's comfort.

*****BWST*****

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" asked River as the six of them left the Great Hall after breakfast.

"I'm sure," said Lily. "I promised Hugo I'd go with him today. Maybe I'll meet up with you guys later."

River shrugged and wrapped his arm around Dawn's waist. "Suit yourself."

"Bye, Lily!" said Dawn, waving.

Lily waved back and the five others disappeared into the crowd, River and Dawn still attached at the hip, Louis and Marica arguing about something or other, Cassiopeia apparently deep in her own little world.

Lily felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Ready to go?"

Lily turned around and nodded at her cousin. His red hair was slicked back in a style reminiscent of Scorpius Malfoy and he wore an open-necked button-up with stripes in various shades of green and silver, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He was a far cry from the over-eager, awkward boy who had followed Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy around like a little lost puppy dog, and Lily had to admit the change wasn't all bad.

"Then let's go!"

Lily joined the group of mostly Slytherins and they headed out to the streets of Hogsmeade. Lily, as Hugo's cousin and guest in the group, found herself sharing the place of honor at the head of the entourage with Hugo and his new girlfriend, a pretty, petite fourth year with black braids named Paige Zabini.

"Where should we go?" Hugo asked, turning back to get the opinions of his group of friends (or followers, depending on how you looked at it, though strangely this thought didn't bother Lily as much as it used to with Albus and Scorpius).

"The Hogshead!" someone shouted, and the chant was taken up. "Hogshead, Hogshead, Hogshead!"

Hugo looked at Paige, who nodded, and Lily, who shrugged, and then said, "The Hogshead it is!"

And so it was that Lily found herself heading toward the one place in Hogsmeade where she had been before and had vowed never to go again.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia followed along behind the couple and the should-be-couple, present in body but not in mind or spirit. River and Dawn were exchanging cuddles and kisses, while Louis and Marica were exchanging glares and sharp words. Cassiopeia set her feet on auto-pilot and let her mind wander.

_I suppose it's true that you should be careful what you wish for_, she mused. _I've fallen into the trap of having wisdom without knowledge_.

So caught up in her own thoughts was she that she nearly walked right into her friends, who had stopped walking in front of her.

"Let's go into the Three Broomsticks for a drink," said Louis.

"I'm not thirsty," said Marica, probably just to be obstinate.

"I feel like going inside to sit down," said Louis.

"Well I don't," said Marica stubbornly.

"I'm tired and thirsty and I feel a little—"

"Whine, whine, whine," cut in Marica.

"Alright, fine, have it your way!" said Louis throwing up his hands.

The two glared at each other for a moment and then kept on walking. Dawn and River, belatedly realizing that the group was moving again, trotted to catch up.

*****BWST*****

Lily was pretty sure that the Hogshead had never been this crowded before, at least not in living memory. Lily, Hugo, Paige, and the six other Hogwarts students made up the entire clientèle except for a wizened old witch in the corner, but with only the ancient Aberforth to wait on them, it promised to be a day-long venture.

The little pub was no cleaner or better-kempt than the last time Lily had been here, and she was still a little creeped out by old Aberforth Dumbledore, but somehow she managed to enjoy herself even so.

Paige, with her high, twittery voice and fluttering hand gestures, got on her nerves, but there were a brother and sister, from Slytherin and Ravenclaw respectively, with whom she found she got on quite well. She even tried to interest herself more than platonically in the sister, but gave the idea up quickly as a lost cause when the girl mentioned her long-distance boyfriend of three years. Still, the afternoon was more enjoyable than it might have been, and Lily found that she was much more relaxed by the end of it than she had been at the start.

*****BWST*****

Up ahead Louis and Marica had stopped again.

"Marica, can we sit down for a minute?"

"You're the one who wanted to come all the way to Scrivenshaft's."

"Marica, I need to sit down."

Louis swayed and Marica caught him around the waist, an alarmed look on her face.

"Louis! Are you alright?"

He shook his head. "I can't—I can't breathe—"

"Dear Merlin..." she lowered him onto a nearby bench. "Cassie," she said, throwing the younger girl Louis's bag, "find his medicine! Oh, where's Lily when you need her?"

"_Focus_, Louis," she said, catching his eyes and pressing a hand to his heaving chest. "Don't pass out on me. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling bad?"

"I—tried—" said Louis feebly. "You didn't—listen."

Marica bit her lip. "Oh Louis...you did, didn't you? I'm so sorry..."

Cassiopeia succeeded in locating the potion and handed it to her, watching Louis in concern. He really didn't look good, something she should have noticed before now. She was the observant one, that was her job! What was with her lately?

Marica unscrewed the cap and tilted the potion to Louis's lips, forcing him to swallow it. He spluttered and sneezed forcefully, his eyes watering profusely, but his breath came a bit easier and he grinned weakly at Marica. "Never a dull moment with me, eh?"

"Louis Weasley, you bastard!" she nearly shouted, tears springing into her eyes. And to his utter surprise she hugged him fiercely, knocking the wind out of him once more.

"Marica—can't—breathe—"

She drew back quickly and offered him her hand. "I'm taking you to the hospital wing, no arguments," she said sternly.

"Yes, m'am," he said with a resigned sigh, earning him a half-hearted glare.

Marica helped him to his feet and he leaned on her as they made their way back up to the school, perhaps a bit more than was strictly necessary, reflected Cassiopeia with a small, knowing smile.

*****BWST*****

River and Dawn caught Lily and Hugo in the entrance hall when they came back from the Hogshead.

"Lily, I thought you might want to know that Louis is the hospital wing. He had an asthma attack when we were in Hogsmeade."

Lily and Hugo both groaned.

"Cela imbécile!" said Lily. "Is he okay?"

"Well, it was pretty bad, but I think he's alright now. Marica and Cassiopeia are with him and he's probably already driving them crazy again."

Hugo grinned. "Sounds like our Louis alright. Will he ever learn?"

"Probably not," said Lily. "Weasleys generally don't."

And before Hugo could respond she trotted off toward the hospital wing, the protesting Slytherin on her heals.

*****BWST*****

When Lily and Hugo arrived at the hospital wing Marica was kneeling beside Louis's bed, stroking his hair back from his forehead.

"How do you feel?" she asked softly.

"A little dizzy, but okay."

"Louis?"

Both of them looked up as Lily and Hugo crossed the threshold.

Louis smiled at them. "Hi."

"What happened?"

"We in Hogsmeade and Louis started feeling bad because of his allergies," said Marica. "And he tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen. Lily, I'm sorry."

"Rica, hush," said Louis. _Rica?_ "I didn't do a very good job of trying to tell you. It isn't your fault. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."

"Obviously not," said Lily, raising her eyebrows at her cousin's prone form in the hospital bed.

Louis chuckled. "Touché."

"How did you convince Mr. Stubborn to let you bring him to the hospital wing?" asked Hugo.

"She wouldn't take no for an answer," said Louis ruefully.

"That and you fainted halfway here," pointed out Marica.

Lily frowned and knelt on the other side of the bed. "Really?"

"Yep," said Louis cheerfully. "And Marica carried me all the way here."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Marica. "River helped me."

Louis shrugged. "Either way I woke up here with Rica leaning over me looking like the world was about to end."

_There it was again, that nickname._

"I thought there was something seriously wrong with you!" said Marica. And to Lily's surprise her eyes filled with tears. "Do you know what can happen when the brain doesn't get enough oxygen for extended periods of time?"

"Shhhh," said Louis soothingly, reaching up a hand to stroke her cheek. "No harm done to my beautiful self," he added with a cocky grin.

He sat up against his pillows and Marica hugged him tightly, burying her dark head in his chest. "You horrible, infuriating boy. I ought to punch you."

Louis chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. "And ruin this perfection?" He brought his lips to her hair. "Stop it, Rica. I'm fine."

"You don't know how scary that was," said Marica. "I've never seen you that bad before. Usually you're sneezing and coughing and wheezing all over the place. This time you were just...still."

Lily moved to sit beside them on the bed and Louis pulled her into his embrace as well. "Fret not, fair damsels, it's going to take a lot more than a bit of pollen to take me away from my two favorite girls."

He kissed them both on the cheeks and then pushed them away. "Now run along, you three, before Madam Pomfrey comes in and has a conniption fit."

Lily looked around and started when Cassiopeia rose out of a chair nearby. She hadn't even noticed the girl sitting there. Cassiopeia crossed to Louis's bed, kissed him on the cheek and then followed the other two girls out of the hospital wing.

*****BWST*****

Marica was positively glowing. The day after the Hogsmeade incident Louis had come up to her in the common room and asked her out in front of everybody. Privately he admitted to Lily and Cassiopeia that it was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, but also possibly one of the most worth it.

"Told you so," said Cassiopeia smugly.

"Have you really liked her all this time?" asked Lily incredulously.

"Well, since the beginning of this year," he told her.

"And it took you this long to ask her out?" said Lily. "You're supposed to be a pro with girls!"

"I know, I know." said Louis. "It's different when you really like them, okay?"

"People can be so clueless sometimes," said Cassiopeia, shaking her blond head.

"Er—yeah, I gotta go," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Dawn had a similar conversation with Marica.

"You and _Louis_?" said Dawn.

"Yeah," said Marica a bit defensively. "What about it?"

"I just never would have thought you and _Louis_. When did you start being interested in him?"

"Well, actually, I've always been kind of interested in him. I even told you guys once back in our third year, remember? Only we all kind of blew it off as a joke. It always seemed like one of those silly kid crushes that you have on your friend's older brother, or, in this case, your friend's older cousin. But it never really went away, and over the past year...I don't know..."

"You felt something back from him," said Lily. "You just didn't realize it."

Her two friends looked at her.

"That's very intuitive coming from you, Lily," said Dawn.

"Maybe Cassie is rubbing off on her."

"It's amazing what you can see when you pay attention," mumbled Lily.

"Yep, definitely Cassie," said Marica.

"What about me?" said Cassiopeia, coming up.

"We were just saying that you've been rubbing off on Lily," said Dawn. "She's actually noticing things."

"Although, come to think of it," said Marica thoughtfully, "Lily and Cassie haven't been spending so much time together recently..."

"Er—I've gotta go—Kat—potions study session," mumbled Lily, and she grabbed her things haphazardly and fumbled out of the portrait hole, her friends giving her very strange looks as she went.

**AN: Cassie finally gave us her sexual preference (or lack thereof)! In fact, I'm pretty sure there was actually more of what Cassie is thinking and feeling about the whole thing than what Lily is in this chapter. That's because I saved Lily's explanation for her behavior for the next chapter, never fear. But even thought that part's not resolved yet, Louis & Marica are finally together, yeah? At least that's something :) I actually enjoyed the excuse to follow other characters a bit that the distance between Lily and Cassie gave me. And if some of what Cassie was thinking left you a bit confused, well...she tends to do that ;)**

**And **_**Cyrano de Bergerac**_** is an awesome story, by the way. If you've ever seen the movie **_**Roxanne**_** (which actually I haven't, but whatever) that's an adaptation of **_**Cyrano de Bergerac**_**, as is the musical **_**Cyrano**_** (which I also haven't seen. I've only seen and read the straight play so far, which I love, even though my mom says it's "too long", but now I'm rambling... If you haven't noticed I tend to used Dawn to throw in random references to theatre *grin*)**

**And I will be giving Dawn some more of the plot in future chapters. And Hugo too.**

**Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you have to say about the chapter!**

**-SQ**


	37. Chapter 37: The First Failed Party

**Disclaimer: Think about it, would this story be on this site if I owned Harry Potter?**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: The First Failed Party**

Lily didn't want a big deal made out of her birthday this year but, of course, it being Lily's coming of age year and having Louis Weasley as a cousin, a small affair was not an option.

Louis employed Cassiopeia's help to throw one of the best seventeenth birthday parties Hogwarts had ever seen. The Saturday before Lily's birthday found her being led outside by Dawn, Marica, and, to her vast discomfort, Cassiopeia, dressed in a pair of loose, lightweight, navy blue trousers and a white, cinched-waist peasant blouse. The outfit, complete with a shiny new diamond nose-stud, was her birthday present from Cassiopeia, and her friends had practically had to tie her down and threaten her to get her to accept it. Now she felt a little bit like a prisoner being led to the gallows as she walked out onto the green castle lawn and into the lily-draped pavilion where a truly splendid array of food and drink had been arranged, courtesy of her family's connections with the Hogwarts house-elves.

Looking around, Lily felt like she might throw up. It was quite obvious that Louis had planned this party, and just as obvious that Cassiopeia had had a great hand in helping him. Why did the girl insist on plaguing her like this? Wasn't her own guilt bad enough?

Louis came up and slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Happy birthday, mon belle cousine."

He turned to Marica and tried to kiss her, but she shooed him away.

"Later! This is Lily's day!"

Louis gave a long-suffering sigh.

"You see what I have to put up with?" he said. Then he grinned. "Come on, girls, let's get this party started!

*****BWST*****

Lily stood numbly through the ceremonies that her cousin and friends insisted on putting on, studiously looking anywhere but at Cassiopeia.

She tried to have fun for her friends' and Louis' sake, she really did, but her heart just wasn't in it. She tasted none of the food that was handed to her, eating automatically to please the servers, she barely heard anything anyone said, and Dawn had to prompt her three times before she realized they wanted her to blow out the candles on her cake.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia stood underneath a tree, watching Lily with concern. No matter how hard she tried to catch the older girl's eye, Lily refused to look at her. She had hoped her involvement in the party and the gift of Lily's new outfit—in which she looked stunning—would let Lily know that Cassiopeia was prepared to go on as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, if that was what Lily wanted. But either Lily wasn't getting the hint or that wasn't what she wanted. Cassiopeia just wished that she knew what she did want.

"Louis. Louis." Cassiopeia tugged on his sleeve.

Louis looked down at her, blowing his nose on his handkerchief.

"Yes? Isn't this party splendid?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "Yes, it is, but I think you should go talk to Lily."

Louis looked over at his cousin.

"She does seem to be a little out of it, doesn't she?"

"Something's bothering her."

Louis looked down at the small girl. "And you know what it is?"

"I—I'm not sure," hedged Cassiopeia.

"If you have an idea of what's bothering her then why don't you talk to her?" asked Louis.

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?" asked Louis, surprised. "You two talk about everything."

"I just can't."

"Can you give me an idea of what might be bothering her then?" asked Louis.

Cassiopeia shook her head.

Louis looked at her for a few seconds, puzzled, but when it was clear that he would get no more out of the young Malfoy, he crossed the lawn to where his cousin was standing.

"Do you want to walk for a bit?"

Lily glanced at him and shrugged, but allowed him to take her arm and lead her away from the other guests.

"Is something wrong, Lily?" he asked when they were out of earshot of the party. "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself very much."

"Oh, Louis..." said Lily, "it's a great party, it is. I'm just...distracted."

"By what?" asked Louis, sitting down on the grass and motioning Lily to do the same.

"I did something stupid," said Lily miserably after a moment. "No, more than stupid. Something really wretched."

Louis put an arm around his cousin's shoulders and looked at her in concern. "What is it, Lily? You can tell me. It can't have been that bad."

Lily shook her head. "I...I betrayed someone who thought of me as a friend. I took advantage of someone who trusted me." She began to cry. "I'm b-bigger and older and st-stronger and I used that...and I'm d-disgusted with myself."

Alarmed, Louis stroked Lily's back, trying to calm her sudden onslaught of tears.

"I don't understand, Lily," he said. "Who have you betrayed? Who did you take advantage of? How?"

"I c-c-can't tell you," Lily whispered miserably, burying her face in Louis's shoulder. "I c-can't betray them ag-gain."

Louis stoked her hair for a minute in silence, trying to think of the best thing to say. Before he had thought of anything, Lily raised her head and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"I-I'm sorry Louis, it's a really great party. But I have to go."

And she stood up and walked off toward the castle, leaving a bewildered Louis looking around at the first failed party of his young life.

*****BWST*****

Lily sat on the edge of her bed, twisting her silver and crimson bracelet around and around her wrist. She felt awful for leaving her own birthday party like that, when Louis and Cassiopeia had obviously worked so hard on it, but she just couldn't stay any longer; she had to be alone.

She glanced down at her fingers, which were still twirling the silver threads of the bracelet encircling her wrist. She always played with it when she was nervous or upset or thinking about something; she was surprised it had held together as well as it had; after all, Cassiopeia had given it to her two and a half years ago, and in all that time she had never once taken it off.

Never once taken it off? That was right...she hadn't, had she? It hadn't been a conscious decision, but once she had put it on that Christmas she had simply never removed it.

She rubbed her thumb over the crimson button next to the fastening knot. This was the first gift Cassiopeia had ever given her after they had become friends. A kind a symbol of their friendship. A promise. A promise Lily had broken, she reminded herself bitterly. She didn't deserve the right to wear the bracelet anymore.

She looked at the knot in the silver threads securing the bracelet to her wrist; it was pulled so tight by now that she doubted it could ever be undone without cutting it, and ruining such an exquisite piece of artwork—Cassiopeia's artwork—was something she could not bring herself to do.

Why was this bracelet so special to her anyway? She normally didn't like jewelry much, and she had gotten countless gifts from her friends over the years. So why this one? Was it because of the feelings (the horrible, shameful feelings) she had for Cassiopeia? But those were recent! Could she really have felt like that about the other girl all this time without realizing it? Lily shuddered. She felt like a pedophile. When she had met Cassiopeia the girl had been eleven for Merlin's sake! And had looked eight! And while Cassiopeia was no longer quite so young and defenseless...she was still little more than a child. Though that's not what Lily's body said whenever her eyes wandered in Cassiopeia's direction.

Lily buried her head under her pillow. Why did life have be so complicated?

*****BWST*****

The end of May came and went, and with it an added misery for Lily. After her inadequate explanation of her problem to Louis, her well-meaning cousin kept trying to get her to talk about it. She wanted nothing more than to be able to unload her problems on him as she had in the past, but not only would that be unfair to him (already battling his allergies while trying to prepare for his N.E.), but it wasn't only her secret to tell.

Her best relief was the study sessions she spent with Kat. Dear, friendly, fun, studious Kat, who wasn't part of her normal circle of friends and so didn't know that anything was amiss. Lily dearly wished that their relationship had worked out, but Kat was very happy with her girlfriend, and, as much as she hated to admit it, there was only one girl whom Lily harbored those kinds of feelings for, and she would forever be off-limits.

Ironically, Lily had recently become the go-to person in her group of friends to talk to about personal problems. Helping to solve other people's problems took her mind off of her own, so when Hugo came to her about the increasing tension in his relationship with his girlfriend (every time I touch her she accuses me of pressuring her to have sex!), Dawn wanted to know how far she should go with River, and Marica and Louis despaired on how to get the other one to listen to them, Lily gladly offered them her advice. It didn't seem to matter to any of them that she had next to no experience in these matters; they just needed someone to talk to.

*****BWST*****

It was the first weekend in June and unseasonably warm. The sixth year Gryffindor girls were lying on the floor of their dormitory looking at magazines and half-heartedly studying for their exams. Brandi and Tamzen had come to an uneasy truce with Lily. They still didn't talk to each other, but they tolerated each other's' presence, an important thing for people who shared a dormitory for nearly ten months of the year.

The only person missing from the group was Dawn, who had gone off after dinner with River. It was nearly curfew, so she should be coming back soon, probably full of bubbly praise for the latest actions of her beloved boyfriend. Lily didn't mind; Dawn's happiness was contagious, and Merlin knew she could use a little happiness right about now.

Curfew came and went, and still Dawn didn't arrive. Lily shared a glance with Marica and shrugged. If Dawn and River wanted to risk detention that was their business.

One by one the girls closed their books and magazines and turned in for the night. Dawn still hadn't shown, but perhaps she was down in the common room with Cassiopeia. Lily felt a stab of guilt; neither Dawn nor Marica had been spending as much time with Cassiopeia recently either, what with their boyfriends and with Lily's studious avoidance of her once best friend.

Lily lay her head down on her pillow and shut her eyes firmly. _Don't think about Cassie...Don't think about Cassie...Don't think about...Cassie...Don't think about...Don't think...Don't...think..._

Lily was awoken by a hand shaking her shoulder.

"Lily. _Pssst_, Lily."

She blinked and squinted at the person who was crouching beside her bed.

"Dawn? What are you doing? What time is it?"

"Two in the morning," whispered Dawn. Her voice sounded strange; breathless and rough.

"Why are you waking me up?" Lily whispered back. "Is something wrong?"

Dawn shook her head.

"Then go back to sleep," said Lily, turning over.

"I haven't been to sleep yet," said Dawn, still in a whisper. "I just got back."

"What were you doing out so late?" asked Lily.

In the next bed over, Marica sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"It can't be morning yet."

"It's not," said Lily.

"Then why are you awake?"

"Dawn woke me."

"Why?"

Lily shrugged, a gesture lost in the darkness of the room, and looked at Dawn questioningly.

"Do I look different?" asked Dawn, still in the same rough, breathless whisper.

Lily looked at her. Dawn's eyes glinted in the pale moonlight coming in from the open window; they were opened wide to their full extent. Her blonde/brown hair hung in tendrils over her forehead and cheeks and down her back. For the first time Lily thought she understood how someone might find her beautiful.

"I dunno..." said Lily slowly. "Not really...you look the same...but something about you...I dunno...something is different..."

"I didn't come back until now because I didn't want anybody to see me and know."

"Know what?" said Marica impatiently. She didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night.

"River and I...Professor Longbottom gave him a key to one the greenhouses because of a project he's working on. He took me with him, and then, in the back room there's this couch..." Her eyes shone even brighter in the moonlight, and her cheeks flushed brilliantly.

"He asked me if I wanted to do something there. Lie down on the couch for a while. And I said yes. And one thing led to another..."

Marica's mouth was hanging open.

"You had sex with him?"

Dawn nodded.

"He didn't force me. I wanted it. We were on the couch, and we kept removing articles of clothing one by one to get closer to each other. And then we were just there...and I asked him to do it. Merlin, it was amazing!"

"Shhhh!" hissed Marica, her finger over her lips. She had moved to sit next to Lily on her bed and now she leaned closer to Dawn.

"Did it hurt?"

"Yes, a lot, but it was okay, because he didn't _want_ it to hurt, it just kind of had to. It was the first time for him too, you know."

"Did you use protection?" quizzed Marica sternly.

"Of course!" said Dawn indignantly, her voice rising again. "I'm not that stupid! River did a protection spell. And I had...well, I knew maybe this would happen soon, because we've been getting more intimate with each other recently. So I had a condom with me."

"A what?" said Marica, looking confused.

"A condom," said Lily, "it's a Muggle form of protection. It's like a rubber sheath that the guy puts over his—"

"Okay, okay!" said Marica, holding up her hands. "I get the picture!"

The girls were silent for a minute, then Lily shook her head.

"I can't believe you did it in the greenhouse."

*****BWST*****

Exams. A blight on student-kind everywhere. Actually, when she was able to concentrate on studying rather than on forbidden thoughts of a certain petite blonde, Lily welcomed the distraction. The same could not be said for Louis and Dawn, who would have much rather spent the time with their significant others.

But, like everything else, the study period finally came to an end and exams were upon them. With all the studying Lily had done to avoid thinking about and interacting with Cassiopeia, she was reasonably certain she had gotten good marks in all of her subjects. Now the only thing left to do was pack for the summer holidays. Oh, and that last Hogsmeade weekend.

*****BWST*****

"Come on, Lily, you have to go!"

Lily shook her head. "I don't feel like it. I think I'll get a head start on my packing."

"We'll have plenty of time to pack later and you know it!"

"Who would I go with anyway?" she asked reasonably. "You're going with River, Marica's going with Louis, Hugo's going with his girlfriend..."

"Don't make it sound like that," said Dawn. "We're all going together. And Cassie's coming too."

Lily inwardly flinched. If she had needed another reason not to go to Hogsmeade that was it.

"Come on," pouted Dawn. "It's River and Louis's last Hogsmeade weekend."

Lily sighed. That was true. And she had already let her cousin down enough this year.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," said Lily, rifling around under her bed for her shoes. "Give me two minutes."

*****BWST*****

As was usual when one went to Hogsmeade with Louis in the spring or early summer, the group had to take refuge indoors halfway through the day, when Louis's periodic coughing and sneezing made the transition to asthmatic wheezing.

"You imbecile," said Marica sternly but fondly, stroking Louis's hair while he sipped a glass of ice water. "What would you do without us to take care of you?"

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," said Louis indignantly, following up the statement with an ineloquent sneeze.

Marica handed him a handkerchief and kissed the top of his blonde head.

"Why do I put up with you?" she asked.

"Because you love me," answered Louis slyly, stealing a kiss as she squirmed in his arms.

Lily smiled. It was a match she never would have thought of, but obviously it made the two of them happy, and that was enough for her.

Lily took another sip of her chilled strawberry juice. She could feel a pair of eyes on her, and she knew very well who they belonged to, but she refused to respond. She was afraid of what she would see there, and what Cassiopeia would see in her own eyes. She hadn't looked forward to summer so much since her third year, when Cassiopeia had still been her annoying little tag-a-long.

*****BWST*****

And yet, when all was said and done, it was a difficult leave-taking on platform 9 ¾ a few days later. Lily swallowed hard as she nodded a cursory goodbye to Cassiopeia, not looking her in the eyes, and her heart clenched as the smaller girl turned away from her with a soft, "Goodbye Lily, see you soon."

As much as she had yearned not to have to see Cassiopeia every day anymore, it was actually physically painful to watch her walk away.

_Please, _please_ let the summer cure me of this...this obsession_ she thought desperately, refusing to think of the feelings she felt as affection or attraction or...love. _I'm not supposed to want her like this._

It was only when Cassiopeia and her family had disappeared from sight that Lily was able to tear herself away from the edge of the platform and join the rest of her family near the exit. Luckily, a family full of Weasleys makes so much noise that a usually quiet person being even quieter than normal goes largely unnoticed. It was easy to avoid the question in her father's eyes and to brush off her mother's "I hope you had a good term." And as she walked through the barrier separating platform 9 ¾ for the outside world she actually managed to work up a smile at the thought of her little cat Marzipan waiting for her back at number 12 Grimmauld Place.

**AN: I know, I know, things still aren't resolved, but now at least you know some of Lily's reasoning behind her actions. Scorpius is in the next chapter, as are some other characters we haven't seen in a while due to their graduating in previous years. Thank you for reading, whatever opinions you have about the chapter please tell them to me in a review!**

**-SQ**


	38. Chapter 38: Reunions

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter? Nope, not mine.**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Reunions**

Merlin, it was good to be home. Lily hadn't realized how much she had missed everybody; her mum and dad, Teddy, Victoire, James (who had a new girlfriend), Rose, even Albus. Without the atmosphere of Hogwarts, and with her family whom she hadn't seen since Christmas surrounding her, Lily could almost forget about her misguided feelings for Cassiopeia and that horrible, ill-fated kiss.

The second weekend of the summer holidays Lily was sitting at the kitchen table with Marzipan in her lap, enjoying a late breakfast (Albus was still upstairs, and presumably still asleep) when the fireplace flared and Teddy toppled out, spilling ash all over the hearth.

"Lils!" he said, grinning at her like a little boy in a candy shop. "St. Mungo's just owled. Aurore's ready to be brought home."

"Oh Teddy, that's wonderful!" said Lily, jumping out of her chair to give Teddy a hug, and spilling a very disgruntled Marzipan onto the floor in the process.

"Louis and Domi are at the hospital now with Victoire to get her," said Teddy, hugging Lily back and twirling her around the room, nearly knocking over a couple chairs. "Do you want to come back to the house with me to wait for them?"

"Do I ever!" exclaimed Lily, her half-eaten breakfast completely forgotten.

"Are your parents home?" asked Teddy.

"No," said Lily. "They're out with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. Al's home but I think he's still sleeping, lazy-bones."

Teddy chuckled. "I'll just leave a note for Harry and Ginny and Al and then and we can go."

He hurriedly scribbled a note and put it on the counter, weighed down by an empty jam jar, and then he and Lily jumped back into the Floo and headed for Teddy and Victoire's flat.

"They're not here yet," said Teddy, sounding half relieved and half disappointed as he peered around the flat.

"Can I see her room, Teddy?" asked Lily, partially out of real curiosity and excitement and partially to distract her godbrother from his waiting anxiety.

"Of course," said Teddy, motioning her toward a door at the end of the hallway. It was painted white and bore a pink plaque which read _Aurore_ in gold letters.

Teddy turned the doorknob and Lily followed him into the room. It was painted all white, with a pink border and pink and gold accents. The pink crib in the corner had a fluffy white canopy, and a neat little box of toys and a doll house occupied the opposite corner. A miniature pink dresser and a comfy gold armchair made up the remaining furniture in the room.

"Oh!" exclaimed Lily. "It's darling!"

It wasn't a room she would have wanted as a child, but it was darling just the same, and seemed to fit the fragile little Aurore perfectly.

Both Teddy and Lily jerked upright at the sound a key turning in a lock. They exchanged a wordless look and then half ran towards the entry hall. They arrived just in time to see Louis back his way in with a suitcase in his hand, followed by his elder sisters and niece.

Aurore was bigger than she had been the last time Lily had seen her, and not quite as fragile-looking, but still small and delicate, and, if it was possible, even more perfect. It was obvious that everyone in the room was enamored with the baby, and Victoire carried her over to the sofa and sat down so that everyone could have a better look.

"What's that?" asked Teddy, looking from his daughter to the case in Louis's hands.

"Things that the mediwizards at St. Mungo's gave us for Aurore," said Victoire.

"What kind of things?" asked Teddy, sounding worried. "What did they say?"

"Some medications, reading materials, monitors, and other essentials is all," said Victoire. "They said she should be perfectly fine. She'll always be small for her age, and delicate, and most likely prone to health problems, but—"

"What kind of health problems?" demanded Teddy, hovering over his daughter protectively.

"A weaker immune system," said Victoire, "and asthma and allergies. To what they're not sure yet, but they'll do the tests as soon as she's old enough. She may progress a little slower than most children in her motor abilities, but she's mentally healthy, even above average." Victoire smiled adoringly down at the baby and then up at her husband. "Don't worry so much Teddy, she'll be fine."

"Of course she will," said Teddy, taking the small bundle that was Aurore from his wife. She blinked up at him with soft blue eyes framed by pale lashes. "Welcome home, Aurore."

*****BWST*****

A week later Lily came in from the garden for lunch to find a rather less welcome visitor.

Albus and Scorpius were sitting at the kitchen table, munching on sandwiches.

Lily felt her heart jolt. She had never noticed before how similar the two Malfoy siblings looked to each other. The same narrow, pointed face, the same pale hair, the same bone structure... Lily suddenly missed Cassiopeia so much that it was physically painful.

"Hi Lils," said Albus offhandedly. "These are our sandwiches so don't you dare touch them. There're some for you in the kitchen."

Lily rolled her eyes at her brother. "Like I want your stupid sandwiches, greedy," she said, silently thanking Albus for giving her a reason to shift her focus from Scorpius; the look he was giving her was making her feel uncomfortable.

Lily grabbed a plate of sandwiches from the kitchen, took it up to her room, and buried her nose in a book with the intention of forgetting everything about anyone whose last name was Malfoy.

Unfortunately, she hadn't read half a dozen pages when there was a knock on her door.

"Go away Al," she said, without looking up from her book. "For the millionth time, I don't now, nor will I ever, want to play Quidditch with you."

"Lily," said a voice that was definitely not Albus's. "We need to talk."

"O-okay..." said Lily in confusion, putting down her book as Scorpius opened the door. "What about?"

Scorpius sat down at her desk and swiveled the chair to face her before answering.

"Cassie."

Lily swallowed.

"Wh-what about her?"

"I want to know what's going on with her."

Lily avoided Scorpius's eyes, which were an unsettling silver color.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't even seen her since school ended."

"I think you do know what I'm talking about, Lily," said Scorpius. "Ever since Cassie got home from Hogwarts this summer she's been different."

"Different?" said Lily, interested in spite of herself. "How so?"

"Quiet. Even quieter than usual," said Scorpius. "Withdrawn, even from me. She spends a lot of time in her room, and even when she's with other people she seems miles away." He ran a hand through his white-blonde hair. "I've tried asking her about it, but she won't tell me. She won't tell me," he said, sounding frustrated and anguished. "She tells me _everything_, Lily; we don't have secrets from each other.This was Cassie's first year at Hogwarts without me to look after her. I was counting on you. If something happened to her this year I want to—I _need_ to know."

Lily suddenly felt horrible, terribly, gut-wrenchingly guilty. Something _had_ happened to Cassiopeia this year at Hogwarts, and it was Lily's fault, all her fault. Scorpius, whom she had never given any reason to like or trust her, had trusted her with the care of his precious little sister, and she had let him down. Let them both down. Tears pricked her eyes and she stared down at her lap.

"_Lily..."_

She owed him the truth. Cassiopeia was hurting and Scorpius was the only person who could possibly help her. What did Lily's own shame matter in comparison to that?

"I—I swear I didn't mean to," she began falteringly. "I was never supposed to act on them—no one was ever supposed to know..."

And then the whole story came tumbling out. How she had realized she was attracted to Cassiopeia, how she had done everything in her power not to be, her jealousy, her failed relationship with Kat, her vow to act as though nothing was different.

"And I _swear_ nothing was supposed to happen, I _knew_ it was wrong, but I was so relieved and excited and—and—I don't know, and she was _there_, looking so perfect...and I just...I...oh Scorpius it was awful, I grabbed her and I kissed her. She was so young and I took advantage of her. I was supposed to be her best friend. I feel so dirty," she finished miserably.

Scorpius just stared at her for a few seconds.

"You—you're in love with my sister?"

"What? No!" said Lily, shaking her head violently. "It's not—I'm not—"

"Being in love isn't a bad thing, Lily."

"I know that," said Lily, frustrated. "That's not the point! I shouldn't be having these kinds of feelings for her! It's wrong! What I did to her was wrong! And now there's something wrong with her and it's all my fault!"

"She's been kissed before you know Lily," said Scorpius after a moment.

"But not by her best friend!" said Lily. "I betrayed her."

Scorpius considered the weeping girl in front of him.

"Lily," he said slowly. "I think you're blowing this out of proportion. A kiss isn't the end of the world."

"But you yourself said she's not acting right, that something's bothering her!" said Lily.

"Yes," agreed Scorpius. "That's true... Lily, what did you do after you kissed her? How have you been acting since then?"

"Since then?" echoed Lily. "I couldn't face her after what I'd done. How could I? I _wanted_ things to be the same as they were before, but they can never be that way again, never. I don't want to hurt her again. I betrayed her."

"So you've been ignoring her." It wasn't a question.

"Well—I—"

"_That's_ what's hurt her," said Scorpius. "Not some stupid kiss. The way she's been acting makes sense now. Do you know, after she became friends with you she was more open, more happy, more like a normal girl than I had ever seen her before. Now she's withdrawing again. And why? Because she _misses_ you."

Lily gaped at him.

"But—but—"

"Don't you miss her?"

"Of course I do!" said Lily in anguish. "But I screwed it up, Scorpius. I took advantage of her."

Scorpius shook his head. "She's not a little kid anymore Lily. I don't blame you for being attracted to her. I _do_ blame you for being too much of a coward to talk to her afterward. Aren't you Gryffindors supposed to be brave? How would _you_ feel if your best friend kissed you and then stopped talking to you?"

Lily blinked. She had never thought about it that way. She had always just assumed that Cassiopeia wouldn't want to have anything to do with her after what she had done, that it was safer for the other girl if Lily and her unnatural feeling stayed as far away from her as possible.

"She never tried to talk to me," said Lily finally. "I thought she didn't want to."

Scorpius sighed. "Lily, you _know_ Cassie, she doesn't have a resentful bone in her body. She also has very few assertive ones."

Lily nodded. It was true. She suddenly felt very young and foolish.

"You don't think she hates me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous," said Scorpius. "She's not even capable of hate."

"You don't think I'm a bad person for feeling the way I do about her?" Lily whispered.

Scorpius patted her awkwardly on the back. "Of course not. You're a lesbian, she's a beautiful, lovable girl. Your feelings are perfectly natural."

"They are? They're not...dirty?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, _are_ they?"

Lily shook her head. "No! I mean...I never thought about doing anything _bad_ to her." She shuddered. "It was bad enough that I felt...what I felt for her."

"Why?"

"She's younger than me..."

"Only by two years," said Scorpius. "That's hardly cradle robbing."

Lily considered. "I want to touch her and kiss her and be close to her. Those aren't things you're supposed to feel for your best friend."

"But they're perfectly normal things to feel for the person you like," said Scorpius.

"And it's...it's okay that I like her?"

Scorpius shrugged. "That's up to Cassie, not to me."

Lily wiped her eyes with the back on her hand.

"Thank you," she said, surprising them both by giving Scorpius as quick hug.

The boy shrugged uncomfortably. "I did it for Cassie, you don't have to thank me."

"Yes I do," said Lily.

"Then you can do it by coming to talk to her," said Scorpius.

Lily swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry.

"Now?"

"The sooner the better," Scorpius replied firmly.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the sitting room meditating when she heard Scorpius come in through the parlor Floo. In the past she would have jumped up to greet him, but now she stayed where she was, willing her mind clear of all thoughts as it had been moments before, until Scorpius had arrived.

"Cassie!"

_Breathe in, breath out, breath in, breath out..._

"Cassie!"

Cassiopeia sighed and opened her eyes. She ought to see what her brother wanted, since he was calling her so insistently. Really she _did _want to see him, she just didn't want him asking her, yet again, what was the matter.

"Coming!" she called, unfolding her legs and rising from the floor.

She crossed the room to the parlor where Scorpius's voice was coming from. She stepped through the doorway, looked toward her older brother, and stopped. Scorpius was not alone. He was accompanied by the last person she would have ever expected to be with him (okay, the second to last, Louis Weasley was the last). Lily Potter.

Cassiopeia couldn't help it, her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. She thought that Lily had made it pretty clear that, for whatever reason, that kiss had brought their friendship to a screeching halt. So what was she doing standing with Scorpius in the Malfoy parlor?

Lily, for her part, could feel her face going as red as her hair. Cassiopeia looked even more beautiful than she remembered, and she felt like she would either jump her or run away at any moment. But she stayed rooted to the spot until Scorpius prodded her in the back.

"Lily wants to talk to you, Cassie," he said.

"Oh," said Cassiopeia. What else could she say? "Would you like to come up to my bedroom, Lily?"

"Er—okay," said Lily weakly.

Neither of the girls said a word to each other and Lily followed Cassiopeia up the stairs to her bedroom. She realized that she had never been to Malfoy Manor before; it truly was impressive, but she barely saw it as she followed the sheet of pale swinging hair in front of her.

Cassiopeia seated herself cross-legged on her bed and Lily, feeling very self-conscious, sat down across from her. What must Cassiopeia think of her, suddenly appearing at her house after barely even looking at her for two months?

Lily fidgeted with her bracelet, knowing she would have to be the one to start the conversation.

"Er—Cassie..." she said, her own voice sounding strange in her ears. "I can't even imagine what you think of me right now...I don't even know what I think of me right now. I've acted like a really bum friend, I know that. It's just...I didn't know how to be your friend anymore after...after what I did. And I suppose I really should start by explaining that, shouldn't I? Only I don't know how to do that either. Only that I started feeling things for you that weren't...weren't what I should have been feeling for you as your friend. And I never meant to act on them, but then I did...and I panicked. I didn't know what to say to you, how to act around you. Didn't know what you thought about it."

Cassiopeia spoke for the first time.

"You could have asked."

Lily actually laughed, though it was a strangled sort of sound. "Oh Cassie, you have such a logical solution for everything! I know now I should have asked, should have talked to you about it. But I was scared. I somehow got it into my head that what I was feeling was wrong, what I wanted to do—what I had done—was wrong. That there was something wrong with me because of it."

Cassiopeia shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with you, Lily. How is it any different than when you liked Hepzibah?"

"Because it's _you_," said Lily. "You were my best friend, and that made it so much more complicated!"

"It didn't have to," said Cassiopeia.

"But what if I lost you because I couldn't control my feelings for you? You mean so much to me Cassie..."

Cassiopeia scooted closer to her on the bed. "The only way you were ever in danger of losing me was through yourself. I've always been here waiting for you."

"But...don't you mind that I...I have feelings for you that way?"

Cassiopeia smiled softly. "Lily, do you know what my birthday wish was?"

Lily shook her head in mute bewilderment.

"It was to know what true romance was, because I wanted to know if that was what I felt for you. My wish came true when you kissed me."

Lily started at her, feeling suddenly light-headed. "You don't think it's weird that your best friend kissed you? You don't think it's gross to be kissed by a girl?"

"What could be more natural than kissing the person you have romantic feelings towards?" said Cassiopeia. "Regardless of their gender. I have no preference either way, I thought you knew that."

Lily shook her head. "I...didn't."

Cassiopeia rose up on her knees and laced the fingers of both hands through Lily's hair, pushing back on either side of her head. "I didn't know what to do after you kissed me because _you_ didn't know what to do. For the first time in my life I didn't know what was going through someone else's head. That worried and frustrated me. But I knew if, when you sorted yourself out, you still wanted to be friends, I was more than willing, and, if when you sorted yourself out, you wanted to be more than friends, then that was even better."

Lily gave into the impulse then and closed the scant inches between her and Cassiopeia's lips. It wasn't as good as she remembered, it was better, because this time Cassiopeia was kissing her back, her hands still tangled in Lily's hair. Lily's own hands slid down to support the younger girl's back as she caressed Cassiopeia's soft, pink lips with her own. She tasted of salt and honey and something herby. When they broke apart the flavor still lingered on her lips, making her feel light-headed and giddy.

Cassiopeia leaned contentedly against Lily's chest, feeling the redhead's accelerated heartbeat thudding through her body. She had Lily back, as more than she could have ever dreamed, and she didn't have to lie to her brother anymore. All may not have been right with the world, but at that moment all was right with _her_ world. And, for the moment, that was enough.

"I missed you," she breathed.

Lily buried her face in Cassiopeia's silky hair and Cassiopeia felt the warm wetness of tears on her scalp.

"I missed you too," said Lily in a choked voice, holding her tight. How had she ever done without her? "I missed you so much."

**AN: *Grin* You can't tell me you haven't been waiting for that for ages. I know you have. And here it is, finally! So this fic moves kind of slowly...I hope it's been worth the wait. Obviously there's still more to come (the rest of the summer and an entire Hogwarts year), I hope you enjoy that as much as you have (hopefully) enjoyed it up to this point. I hope you liked Scorpius in this chapter, and there will be Louis in the next one. **

**You **_**must**_** have opinions about this chapter, right? So don't be shy like Cassie, share them with me! ;)**

**-SQ**


	39. Chapter 39: First Date

**Author's Note: Damn this one took me a long time to write! By my standards anyway. There were just a lot of scenes that ended up difficult to write. I hope you enjoy it!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: If you don't recognize it from the books I own it, if you do I don't**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: First Date**

Downstairs in the Malfoy Manor parlor, Scorpius Malfoy was restlessly pacing the floor. Every few minutes he would glance toward the staircase that led to the upper floors and to each of the family members' private quarters. The funny thing was, he thought the himself as he passed by the old-fashioned armchair for the twelfth time, he was nearly as anxious for Lily as he was for his own sister. At some point over the last year the redhead had become more than just his best friend's baby sister who hated him. Well, he reflected, perhaps it was because she was no longer a baby and no longer hated him.

Finally Scorpius couldn't stand it anymore. He had never been the patient type, and surely the girls had had time to work things out by now?

He made his way up the staircase and down the hall to his sister's room. There he paused for a second. Should he make his presence known immediately or wait a while and see what he could overhear? Immediately he rejected this idea; spying on his own little sister? Perhaps it was normal behavior for the average big brother, but the very idea repulsed Scorpius. He raised his fist and rapped his knuckles against the door.

Cassiopeia lifted her head off of Lily's chest when she heard the distinctive One. Two. One, two, three, four pattern.

"Yes?" she called out to her brother.

"Is everything alright in there?" came Scorpius's voice through the door. "Can I come in?"

Cassiopeia looked at Lily, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright," said Cassiopeia and Scorpius opened the door and let himself into the room.

The two girls were sitting facing each other on Cassiopeia's bed. Both of their hair was slightly tousled, and though Cassiopeia's eyes were characteristically dry, Lily had tear stains on her cheeks.

Realizing how she must look, Lily rubbed futilely at her bloodshot eyes and smoothed down her hair with her fingers.

"Er—hi Scorpius," she croaked.

Scorpius looked from his sister to Lily and back again. He had been in this situation enough times himself to know what had been going on a few moments before. His relief that they had made up warred with his older brother protective instincts.

Sensing her brother's conflict, Cassiopeia spoke.

"Did Lily tell you what happened between us?"

Scorpius nodded. "She told me."

"Well, we talked about at and I think we're together now..." She glanced at Lily for confirmation.

Lily's heart skipped a beat. Together? With Cassiopeia? _Dating_ her best friend? Wasn't that supposed to turn out really badly in the end? _Not necessarily_, a voice in her head pointed out. _Look at Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron_.

Lily suddenly realized that both Malfoys were staring at her. She swallowed.

"Are we?" she said, her voice coming out as a squeak.

"Come on, Potter," said Scorpius. "You just told me you have feelings for my sister, that you want to, and I quote, 'kiss her and hold her'. And by the looks of things you have been doing just that. Let me make one thing very clear, you don't get to do those things to my little sister and then just walk away."

Lily nodded. "I know. I don't want to walk away. I did that once and I never want to feel that way again. Cassie, if you still want me as your girlfriend after I was such an idiot—"

Cassiopeia smiled at her fondly. "Only if you stop beating yourself up about it."

"I'll do that for you if you ever hurt her again," said Scorpius, and Lily knew he meant it.

Cassiopeia looked up at her brother.

_You don't mind?_

_I'd rather you waited a few more decades, but I see that's not going to happen._

_That she's a girl, I mean._

_Not if she makes you happy. At least I won't have to worry about hormonal teenage boys._

Cassiopeia giggled and Lily looked at her in confusion.

"Nothing," said Cassiopeia, still giggling.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia and Scorpius walked Lily to the Floo. While Cassiopeia was looking for the Floo powder Lily pulled Scorpius aside.

"What are your parents going to say?"

Scorpius bit his lip.

"Honesty, I'm not sure. We've never really talked about it. I can't see them disowning her or anything though. I'm more worried about her reaction to the response of the rest of the world. People can be cruel."

Lily shook her head. "I think she understand more than you give her credit for Scorpius. She saw what I went through when I came out. She just doesn't let it get to her, to touch her purity."

"I hope she stays that way," said Scorpius.

Lily nodded. "So do I."

*****BWST*****

"Lily Luna Potter, where have you _been_?"

Lily looked at her mother, who was standing with her hands on her hips, and then at her watch.

"Oops."

"Oops?" said Ginny, her eyebrows shooting up. "_Oops?_ You disappear from the house for four hours without telling anyone where you're going and all you can say is 'oops'?"

"I went to see Cassiopeia," said Lily weakly.

"And of course that had to be done in secret..."

Lily cringed. She hadn't meant to make her mother angry. She hadn't even thought about telling anyone where she was going when she left.

"I didn't mean to go without telling anyone," she said. "And I didn't mean to be there for so long."

"Care to tell me what was so important that you simply _forgot_ to tell us where you were going and to come home in time for dinner?"

Lily bit her lip. "Scorpius told me she was upset. I had to make things right."

"Lily," said Ginny. "I know she's your best friend, but that doesn't mean you have to go running off to her side every time she's upset about something."

"But she was upset about _me_," said Lily. "I—I did something really rubbish and I had to fix it."

"And it couldn't wait?"

"It had already waited too long."

"Lily, I want a straight answer from you. What were you doing today?"

Lily took a deep breath. "I was apologizing to Cassie for avoiding her for the last two months and confessing to her that I have feelings for her."

Ginny blinked.

"You haven't talked to Cassiopeia in two months?"

Lily shook her head.

"And this is because you had feelings for her?"

Lily nodded.

"I didn't know what to say."

That Ginny could understand. She was just glad it had only taken her daughter two months rather than three years.

"Very well," said Ginny firmly. "Come in and have some dinner. This doesn't let you off the hook though, young lady," she added. "You are not leaving this house without asking permission from me or your father for the rest of the summer."

"But—" protested Lily.

"No buts," said Ginny firmly.

"What if I can't get a hold of you?" persisted Lily.

"Then you may ask Teddy or Victoire," said Ginny. "End of discussion," she added when Lily opened her mouth again. And, knowing she would get nowhere by arguing the point, Lily fell silent and followed her mother into the kitchen.

*****BWST*****

Lily had expected Albus's teasing, her grandmother's renewed head shaking, and Rose's "This is kind of weird...". What she hadn't counted on was Louis's anger.

"I can't _believe _you told _Malfoy_ instead of me!" he raged at her the moment he saw her that weekend. "Of all the _bloody_ people in this _bloody_ world you had to go to _him_? What, you couldn't _trust_ me?"

"No, Louis, that's not it at all!" said Lily. "I didn't go to him, he came to me!"

"And so you had to spill your guts to that bastard?" Louis fumed.

"Louis, please, calm down!" Lily pleaded. "He's Cassie's brother, I owned him the truth."

"I'm your cousin! Don't you think you owed _me_ the truth."

"Yes—Louis—I hadn't told anyone until—"

"Until you told _him_."

"It's not _like_ that!" cried Lily in frustration. "I didn't tell you because I was ashamed! And I didn't want to hurt Cassie any more! It wasn't about you or Scorpius or anyone else! This is about me and Cassie! And Scorpius isn't that bad. If it weren't for him I'd still not be talking to her and we'd both still be miserable.

"Not that bad?" said Louis incredulously. "What happened to hating Scorpius Malfoy? First Rose and now you, that boy is bewitching everyone!"

"You don't even know Scorpius!" retorted Lily angrily. "You just don't like him because he was popularity competition for you at school. He doesn't even go to Hogwarts anymore, and you both have girlfriends! Scorpius can actually be a nice guy. He's smart and he truly cares about his sister, so give it a rest already! Scorpius has matured since he started at Hogwarts and it's about time you did too!"

And with that Lily stormed off across the Burrow's lawn.

*****BWST*****

Lily sat in the branches of an old oak tree thumping her heels against the trunk. At the beginning of the day she had still been elated with the knowledge that Cassiopeia was really her girlfriend, now she felt terrible. She had just had her first real fight with Louis. Of all the members of her large family, Louis was the only one she had never seriously fought with. Sure, they had had a few arguments here and there, but nothing ever this substantial.

There was a shuffling of branches and Hugo scrambled up onto the branch beside her.

"Hey, Lils, what's up?" he asked, peering into her face concernedly.

"I just had a fight with Louis," she said despondently. "He doesn't like the fact that I told Scorpius what was bothering me instead of him."

"Don't worry," said Hugo, patting her shoulder. "He'll come around. Louis was never one to hold a grudge."

"I hope so," said Lily. "I kind of chewed him out."

"With Domi and Victoire as sisters I'm sure he's used to it," said Hugo.

"And Marica as a girlfriend," Lily couldn't help but add.

"Too true," agreed Hugo.

Lily rested her head on Hugo's shoulder.

"Is it weird to miss your girlfriend when it's only been three days since you've last seen her."

"When you first start dating, not at all," said Hugo. "If you're still missing her after three days a year down the road then you can start to worry."

Lily chuckled. "She just has a way of making everything seem better."

"I wish I had a girlfriend that solved problems instead of causing them," said Hugo.

"Oh?" said Lily, lifting her head. "What's up with you and Paige?"

"She wants to 'take a break' over the summer, but then be together again when we're back at Hogwarts. I don't like the idea of her messing around with other boys during the holidays."

"I don't blame you," said Lily. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her no," said Hugo, "and now she's mad at me."

"If she doesn't want you bad enough to be faithful then good riddance to bad rubbish," said Lily, who had never much cared for Paige in the first place.

"I dunno," said Hugo. "I'm gonna wait and see how it plays out."

Lily just shrugged, knowing it would be useless to try and make her cousin see reason.

"Come on," said Hugo. "Your mum actually sent me to find you for dinner."

Lily suddenly realized that she was famished and followed her cousin down to the ground feeling marginally more cheerful.

*****BWST*****

Louis wasn't angry really, not after his first outburst, he was hurt. Hurt that Lily hadn't trusted him enough to come to him with her troubles. Hurt that she had gone to someone else—to Malfoy of all people, whom they had hated together—instead. Hurt that she now obviously thought less of him for his reaction.

Louis had never cared about himself much in the grand scheme of things, his flippant treatment of his allergies showed that. Oh sure, he enjoyed being popular and a teenage heartthrob, and his vanity about his appearance was rivaled only by that of his youngest sister. But he would have dropped all of that in a heartbeat if someone he cared about had really needed him.

And Lily had needed him. Needed him, but hadn't come to him. Which meant that he had let her down. Was it because he was dating Marica, focusing his time and attention on her rather than on Lily? Was it because of his rivalry with Malfoy, who was, after all, the older brother of Lily's best friend and now girlfriend?

If he broke up with Marica that would only cause more pain. But there was something else he could do.

*****BWST*****

"Er—Malfoy, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Scorpius looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want, Weasley?"

"I want to know why Lily chose to tell you what was bothering her and not me."

Scorpius started at him.

"Man do you have things backwards. I came to Lily about what was bothering Cassie. I wanted to know what was wrong with my little sister. _That's_ what Lily told me, it just happened to be the same thing that was bothering her. Look, Weasley. I know what it's like not to know what's bothering someone who's close to you, to feel like you're helpless to fix whatever's wrong because you don't know what it is. But it's not about how you feel about it or how I feel about it. This was about Cassie and Lily. And they're happy now. So what's more important, that or your ego?"

Louis tugged on his silvery blonde hair.

"Damnit, when did you start speaking sense, Malfoy?"

Scorpius just chuckled.

"I still don't much like you, Malfoy—" started Louis.

"Trust me, Weasley, the feeling's mutual."

"But it looks like I'm stuck with you," Louis continued.

"I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine," said Scorpius.

"I think I can live with that," said Louis.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia (after Lily had asked permission from her father) were going on their first real date. There was a lovely little Muggle café a few streets down from number twelve, Grimmauld Place which served the best muffins Lily had ever tasted, over fifty different varieties.

Cassiopeia showed up at Lily's house at half past three in the afternoon, wearing a magenta petal skirt and a white blouse, her thigh-length hair worn loose down her back and kept out of her face with a magenta and white headband.

Lily grabbed her hands and kissed her on the spot.

"It should be illegal to be so beautiful," she murmured against the younger girl's lips, which were brushed with magenta lip gloss.

"If it were then you'd be arrested," said Cassiopeia, hands coming to rest on Lily's hips, which were clad in low rise, loose fitting denim shorts and encircled by a silver chain belt. Her outfit was completed by a cream colored tank top with black straps and her hair was gently spiked with a little bit of gel.

"Come on," said Cassiopeia, taking Lily's hand and tugging it gently. "I'm ready for some muffins."

*****BWST*****

Fifteen minutes later the two girls were sitting at a round table in the café, sharing a lemon meringue, a strawberries and honey, and a chocolate pumpkin muffin between them, complimented by a pair of blended coffees.

"These really are the best muffins ever," said Cassiopeia, breaking a piece off of the strawberries and honey one.

"I told you," said Lily, taking a sip of her drink.

"You have chocolate pumpkin muffin on your lip," said Cassiopeia.

"Where?" said Lily. "Here?"

"No," said Cassiopeia, reaching across the table to remove the crumb. "There."

Lily blushed as Cassiopeia's fingers brushed her face and she caught the small hand and kissed its palm.

"Hey, you, lesbos, get a room!" said an angry voice from the next table.

Cassiopeia and Lily looked up to see a large bearded man giving them the finger.

"My wife and I are trying to eat our muffins here and you're making us sick."

"My girlfriend and I are trying to eat _our_ muffins here, and you're making us annoyed," retorted Lily.

"If you want to suck cunt that's your own business, but don't do it where self-respecting citizens can see you," said the man.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" said another patron, covering her young daughter's ears with her hands.

"I wouldn't think you'd want your little girl exposed to that kind of thing," said the man, jerking his thumb at Lily and Cassiopeia.

"What I don't want my daughter exposed to is foul-mouthed bigots like you," said the woman.

The café manager came hurrying out of the back room.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"This man is causing a disruption with his rude, foul-mouthed bigotry," said the woman.

"I'm causing a damn disruption! ? These two little whores here are causing the disruption!" said the man angrily.

"I'm sorry sir, but this is a family establishment and I can't have you using that kind of language here," said the manager. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The man stood up, slamming his money down on the table and pulling his wife along behind him.

"And you won't bloody well see me back here, either!" he shouted.

When the manager had returned to the back room Lily turned to the mother at the next table.

"Thank you."

"It was nothing, dear," said the woman, a petite woman with reddish brown hair, an upturned nose, and freckles. "I would hate for your date to be ruined by someone like that. My name is Emily, by the way. And this is my daughter Leslie."

Leslie, who looked to be about five or six, gave them a dimpled smile and waved.

"My name is Lily," said Lily. "And this is Cassiopeia."

"Hello," said Cassiopeia softly, smiling shyly at Emily and Leslie.

"Nice to meet you both," said Emily. "Would you like to come over for tea some time?"

"Oh," said Lily, "that would be lovely. I mean, I'd have to ask my mom..."

"Of course, as any responsible young girl should. I'll tell you what. I've actually been looking for a daytime sitter for Leslie. I work at home but I need someone to look after her while I'm in my office. Why don't you come over this Friday at tea time and we can talk about it. That is if you're interested. I would pay you of course."

"Oh, thank you!" said Lily, while Cassiopeia nodded in agreement.

Emily pulled a piece of paper from her purse and scribbled down a number.

"Here's my number. Give me a call when you know if your parents are okay with it."

"I will," said Lily, taking the paper. "Thank you very much."

*****BWST*****

When Lily and Cassiopeia got back to number twelve Grimmauld place, they found a rather awkward looking Louis waiting for them on the front steps.

"Hey, Lily," he said, rubbing his neck with the back of his hand. "Look, I can't stay long—I've got a dinner date with Marica, but I just wanted to apologize for how I acted the other day. I was out of line. It just hurt me that you hadn't felt able to come to me."

"Oh Louis," said Lily, running up to hug her cousin. "I _always_ know I can talk to you. I wanted to, I really did, I just felt I _couldn't_ because Cassie was involved too. I only talked to Scorpius because he's her brother and—"

"I know," said Louis. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're happy now, yes?"

Lily looked over her shoulder at Cassiopeia and smiled.

"Yes. Definitively yes."

*****BWST*****

Around the dinner table that night Lily brought up the topic of Emily and Leslie.

"Mum, while Cassie and I were at the café today," she started, ignoring the kissing noises Al was making at her, "we met this really nice woman named Emily and her daughter, and she asked us if we'd like to babysit some days while Emily works in her home office. If it's okay with you and Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy we're going to go over for tea on Friday to talk about it."

"That sounds wonderful," said Ginny. "I would have to meet her of course. How about I get off work early on Friday and join you?"

"Alright," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

At Malfoy Manor Cassiopeia was having a similar discussion with her parents.

"I don't know," said Astoria, her lips pursing in a frown. "You're awfully young to be going all the way over there by yourself..."

"I wouldn't be by myself," said Cassiopeia. "Lily would be with me."

"I don't like the idea of you spending all that time with Muggles," said Draco.

"Come on, Mother and Father," said Scorpius. "I would be good for her to have a job and some independence.

Astoria and Draco looked at each other.

"We will come with you to meet this Emily woman and then we will decide," said Draco finally.

*****BWST*****

Friday afternoon the entire Malfoy family flooed to number twelve Grimmauld Place in preparation for going to tea at Emily's. In spite of their children's long term friendship with the Potter family, the Malfoy parents had never before set foot in the Potter residence, and they were grudgingly impressed.

The tea had become a family affair. Not only were all four Malfoys and Lily and her parents attending, but Albus, James, Rose, Louis, and Hugo had all decided to come along too.

When Lily had called up Emily using James's mobile, the woman had assured her that she was delighted to have as many people as would like to come.

So the group of Malfoys, Weasleys, and Potters arrived on the doorstep of the modest Muggle house at half past three in the afternoon and rang the bell.

They heard a dog bark and a moment later Emily opened to door, holding a little, black, wriggling dog by the collar.

"Come in," she said breathlessly, stopping the dog from leaping out of the door with her foot. "I've just put the tea on."

The group trouped inside, Cassiopeia bending down to scoop the little dog up in her arms before it could leap onto her less than enthusiastic parents. A few murmured words and it relaxed limply against her shoulder.

Emily looked at her in shock.

"You're the first person I've ever met who could calm her down," she said. "Usually she just runs around until she collapses from exhaustion."

Cassiopeia just shrugged and gave Emily a small smile.

"I'm Emily Walker," said Emily, extending her hand to Ginny.

"Ginny Potter," said Ginny. "Lily's mother. And this is my husband Harry, our sons James and Albus, our nephews Louis and Hugo, and our niece Rose."

"Nice to meet you all," said Emily. "And you must be Cassiopeia's family," she said, turning to the Malfoys.

"Draco and Astoria Malfoy," said Draco stiffly, ignoring Emily's outstretched hand. "And our son Scorpius."

"A pleasure," said Emily, not sounding the least bit put out by their stiffness. "If you'll just follow me into the kitchen..."

The kitchen was a roomy, airy space with round dining table on one side. Leslie was seated in one of the chairs coloring in a coloring book.

"This is my daughter Leslie," said Emily. "Say hello, Leslie."

"Hi!" said Leslie cheerfully, looking up from her coloring book, her brown pigtails bouncing. "I remember you," she added to Lily and Cassiopeia. "You were at the muffin place when I was there with my mummy. That rude man yelled at you."

Lily's and Cassiopeia's families looked at them questioningly, but they both shook their heads and gave them looks that clearly said, _I'll tell you later_.

"Joe should be here around five or so to meet you all as well," said Emily as she set the table for tea. "When Leslie came into our lives we decided that Joe would keep working and I would work from home so I could function as a stay at home mom. Now that she's older though it's more difficult, especially during the summer when she's not in school."

Tea was delicious, and by the end even the Malfoys had warmed slightly in Emily's and Leslie's presence. The Potters and Weasleys were utterly enchanted.

"You have to come over to our house for tea sometime, Emily," Ginny was saying. "All three of you. So we can return the favor."

"I'd love to, but this is no favor at all," said Emily. "I'm so busy with work and Leslie and Joe that I hardly ever have company over. It's a pleasant change."

"Hopefully Lily can make it a bit easier for you," said Harry.

"I'm counting on it," said Emily with a smile. "She is a lovely girl. They both are."

The sound of the front door opening had them all turning their heads toward the entry hall.

"That must be Joe," said Emily, standing up. "We're in here, honey!" she called through the doorway. "Remember I invited over the families of those nice girls I met at the café the other day?"

"Oh yes, of course," said a voice, and the speaker rounded the corner.

Everyone stared and Albus nearly choked on a large gulp of tea.

"Everyone, this is my partner, Joe," said Emily standing beside the newcomer. "Joe, these are the Potters, Weasleys, and Malfoys."

"How do you do?" said Joe, smiling at them. Joe was taller than Emily, and stockier, with mahogany skin and black hair done into cornrows with multicolored beads on the ends. Joe was wearing a business suit and possessed deep and smooth voice, and she was undeniably female.

Ginny was the first to regain her composure.

"We are very well, thank you. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ginny Potter."

"Isn't Joe a boy's name?" blurted Hugo.

Rose slapped him on the back of the head.

Jo just smiled. "I understand your confusion, especially if Emily has been referring to me simply as 'Jo' all afternoon. My real name is Joanne, but I go by Jo. Spelled 'J O'. Emily has a way of assuming that nobody will be surprised when her significant other turns up and is a woman."

Emily looked slightly embarrassed. "It didn't even occur to me. I'm more conscious of it when I think people might have a problem with it, but since your two daughters are dating..."

"Excuse me?" said Astoria.

"Oops," said Scorpius.

"Am I missing something here?" said Emily, looking at them in confusion.

"I could ask you the same thing," said Draco coldly. "What is this about my daughter dating?"

"Oh," said Emily with dawning comprehension. "You didn't know... Oh, girls, I'm so sorry. I just assumed."

"It's alright," said Cassiopeia. "We were going to tell them. We just...hadn't gotten around to it yet."

"Tell us _what_?" said Astoria, staring at her daughter.

"What Emily said," said Cassiopeia. "Lily and I are dating."

"What—but—since when?" spluttered Draco. And then. "You're too young to date!"

"I'm fifteen, Father."

"I was dating by the time I was twelve," said Scorpius.

"Did you know about this?" demanded Draco, turning on the Potters.

"Yes," said Harry. "But we assumed you did too."

"Well you assumed wrong!" snarled Draco. "Who said I'd think it was alright for my daughter to date another girl?"

Emily stiffened.

"What's not alright about it?"

"Stay out of things that aren't any of your business," said Astoria.

"Do you know how I met your daughter?" Emily asked.

"Emily," said Jo, laying a hand on her arm.

"No," Emily said, shaking her off. "Do you know how I met them? We were in a café and this man started harassing them for being together. I intervened."

Astoria looked at her daughter. "Is this true?"

Cassiopeia nodded in affirmation.

"Love comes in all forms," said Emily. "And there isn't such an abundance of it in this world that we can afford not to embrace them all."

Draco was still looking livid, but the hostility had faded from Astoria's posture.

"You're right..." she said thoughtfully. "Someone in your position, or in yours, Draco," she added, "knows that better than most."

Draco made a sound that was half sigh, half growl. "This is not the way I would have chosen to discover that my daughter is a bloody lesbian."

"But it doesn't matter, does it Father?" said Scorpius, looking him straight in the eye. "In the end, it doesn't _truly_ matter."

Draco looked at his son and then at his daughter. "I don't like it," he said. "Just like I don't like socializing with...certain types of people. But no, in the end, I suppose it isn't one of the things that truly matters."

"And Cassiopeia can babysit Leslie with Lily?" Scorpius's continued, still looking straight at his father.

"Oh bloody hell, why not?" said Draco, and turned on his heal and left the house, his wife following more sedately on his heels.

Scorpius turned to the Walkers.

"Trust me, if you knew everything, you'd know that this really is quite decent where my parents are concerned."

And he, too, left the room, followed by the Potters and the Weasleys.

"Goodbye Emily, Leslie, Jo," said Lily awkwardly. "I had a lovely time."

"Goodbye Lily, goodbye Cassie." said Emily. "Do you think you could start on Monday?"

Both girls grinned at her.

"We'll be here," they said simultaneously.

**AH: Whoo! That was LONG! Usually I keep my chapters between 3000 and 4000 words for this story, but I got to the end, realized how long it was, went back and reread it, and there was just no good place to cut it off. **

**A side note, the dog is based on my best friend's dog and I'm the one who can calm her.**

**This chapter was a lot of work, so I would really appreciate it if you could review. Thanks!**

**-SQ**


	40. Chapter 40: The Country of Love

**Author's Note: Holy crap, chapter 40!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: All the clothing descriptions are my own. The world in which the characters wear them is not.**

**Chapter Forty: The Country of Love**

Babysitting Leslie together was a ball. Neither of the girls had ever babysat before, both being the youngest in their families, and at first they were a little nervous. But they needn't have worried. Leslie adored them and hung on to their every word. She dragged out her dolls and stuffed animals and books and games and introduced the two young witches to everything Muggle children did to have fun, astounded that they didn't know of such common things as Sleeping Beauty and Candy Land. Emily came out of her office at lunch time and prepared them something delicious and nutritious to eat, and then came out again at tea time and stuffed them full of tea and cakes. Lily and Cassiopeia hardly felt as though they were working.

"Ms. Walker—"

"Please, call me Emily."

"Emily, you're going to make us fat with all of these cakes!"

"You? Fat? Never!" exclaimed Emily. "If you were any thinner I could see right through you! Besides, no one could ever get fat chasing around after Leslie all day long!"

It was true, Lily and Cassiopeia could hardly believe that someone so small could have so much energy, conveniently forgetting that they had been the same at her age—well, Lily had, Cassiopeia's kind of energy had always been more subdued.

"Come on Lily, come on Cassie, come _on_," said the little girl, pulling insistently on their hands as she tugged them across the lawn. "I want to show you what I builted!"

The two older girls exchanged glances. Built?

"Tada!" sang out Leslie.

Lily and Cassiopeia looked. In front of them stood a...

"Clubhouse?" guessed Cassiopeia.

"No," said Leslie, shaking her head so that her pigtails bounced back and forth. "It's an emchanted castle! As soon as we enter it we become fairy princesses with magical powers." She turned to Lily. "What do you want your power to be?"

"Er..." said Lily, glancing again at Cassiopeia.

"Here, I'll go first," said Leslie importantly. "My power will be...talking to animals. Now your turn."

Lily wracked her brain. She was a witch for Merlin's sake, shouldn't it be easy for her to come up with a magical power?

"Erm...invisibility," she said, thinking of her father's, and now her brother Albus's, Invisibility Cloak.

"Well, I suppose it's good for a first try," said Leslie consolingly. "You'll get better. What about you, Cassie?"

"Telepathy. Reading people's minds and speaking without words," Cassiopeia elaborated when Leslie gave her a blank look.

"Oh," said Leslie. "Cool! That's a good one! Come on!"

She ducked inside the "emchanted castle", which was a tepee-like construction made of several lawn chairs, the branches Jo had trimmed from the large apple tree out front, a sheet, what looked suspiciously like the missing living room couch cushions, and a copious amount of twine. Lily and Cassiopeia followed her.

"Okay," she said. "Now, I've been kidnapped by an evil witch, that'll be Mummy, and you two have to rescue me without her catching you. Only she's set a whole bunch of tricky traps all around her castle and you mustn't fall into them or you'll be kidnapped too. Got it?"

"Got it," said the other girls, nodding.

*****BWST*****

Even though she was closer to their parents' age than to their own Emily seemed more like a friend to Lily and Cassiopeia than an 'adult'. They could talk to her about things, and she was always up for a laugh. When Leslie, in spite of Lily and Cassiopeia's best efforts to the contrary, interrupted her work to show her a picture she had drawn or to find a hiding place for hide-and-go-seek she didn't yell or tell them off. She just laughed, humored her daughter, and then went back to her work.

Jo too, was incredibly friendly, though they didn't see her all that often. And Leslie, of course, stole their hearts nearly as easily as Aurore from day one.

So it was with real regret that Cassiopeia reminded Emily, Leslie, and Jo that she would be leaving for France with her family the following Monday.

"Don't fret about it," Emily assured her with a smile. "We'll miss you of course, but I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time in France. I wish I could go!"

"I'll miss you too," said Cassiopeia. "This has been the best summer I've ever had."

"At least you'll still have me," said Lily, trying to sound cheerful about her girlfriend going away for three weeks.

"Actually..." said Cassiopeia, "about that... My parents have invited you to come with us."

Lily stared at her, dumbfounded. "What?"

"They brought it up last night at dinner. They asked me if I wanted to invite you. Well, actually, they asked if I'd like to invite my "little friend", but..."

"I thought your parents didn't like me," said Lily.

"Well, no, they don't especially," conceded Cassiopeia. "Actually I think they're using this as an opportunity to keep an eye on you before they send me back to school where I'll be around you all day without supervision."

"I—I'd love to come," said Lily. "But I'd have to ask my parents. It's really short notice. And there's Leslie..." she added, glancing at Emily and Jo.

"Go, go," said Jo, waving her hands at Lily. "How many chances are you going to get to go on vacation with your girlfriend to the Country of Love? Leslie, Emily, and I can manage for three weeks without you."

"You're sure?"

"Positive," said Emily.

Lily couldn't help it, she grinned. "Thanks Jo! Thanks Emily!"

"Take lots of pictures!" Emily shouted after them as they left through the front door.

*****BWST*****

"Mum, can I go to France with Cassie on Monday?"

"Excuse me?" Lily's mother looked up from the vegetables she was stir-frying.

"Cassie invited me to go with her family to France for the next three weeks," said Lily. "Need any help with dinner?"

"No dear, it's nearly ready now. And you said they leave on Monday?"

"Yes," said Lily. "I know it's really short notice, but her parents only suggested it last night."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up.

"Draco and Astoria suggested it?"

"I know, it seems weird to me too," said Lily. "Cassie reckons they want to keep an eye on me."

Albus walked into the kitchen, drawn, no doubt, by the smell of cooking food.

"Cassie's girlfriend wants to take her to the country of love?" he asked, trying to snag a tangerine slice from the salad and getting his hand slapped for his trouble.

"_Albus,"_ Lily complained. Emily had said nearly the same thing earlier, but somehow it sounded different coming from her brother.

"Al does have a point," said Harry, joining them in the kitchen.

"Is everyone listening in on our conversation?" Lily asked.

"James isn't," said Albus, making another go for the tangerine.

"James doesn't live here anymore," said Lily. "And it's not like Cassie and I are going to be in France alone," she added to her father. "Her parents and Scorpius are going to be with us."

"How come Scorp never took me to France?" asked Albus.

"Scorpius isn't your boyfriend," said Lily.

"Why doesn't he take Rose then?" asked Albus.

Lily shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm not a mind reader. Ask him yourself if you're so curious. She turned back to her parents. So, can I go? I have money saved up from babysitting so you won't have to give me spending money. Please?"

Harry and Ginny looked from the pleading look in their daughter's eyes to each other.

"Oh alright. But you had better pack quickly."

*****BWST*****

"Wow."

Cassiopeia laughed.

"Wow," said Lily again, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Is that all you can say, Potter?" said Scorpius sardonically.

Lily just rolled her eyes at him. She was far past letting his comments get to her; she knew that now he didn't really mean them in a mean way.

Lily felt she had a reason to say "wow". The five of them, the four Malfoys and herself, had just stepped out onto the street outside the Malfoys' vacation home in Tours, where they had Flooed to late that morning.

The house itself had been impressive enough. A three story artistic masterpiece of spiral staircases, intricate molding, and vaulted windows. Cassiopeia's bedroom was complete with a full size mirror, an antique wardrobe big enough for several people to walk into, and a queen-size canopy bed. The guest bedroom which Lily was to occupy during their stay lacked the canopy over the bed, but had a window-seat reminiscent of Wendy's in the Muggle classic "Peter Pan".

But if the inside of the house was amazing, the street outside was simply breathtaking.

Shops lined the streets, selling everything from high class handbags to mouth-watering sticky buns. People bustled by, jabbering in French, and in the distance Lily could see the glimmerings of a canal.

"Wow," Lily said again. "I love it."

Cassiopeia grinned. She was enjoying Lily's amazement immensely. For her Tours, France had always been a second home; she had never gotten to experience it through a newcomer's eyes. Now she was getting a chance at that experience vicariously through her girlfriend.

A little thrill, half of excitement, half of nervousness went through her as she thought this. Her girlfriend, for all her outward portrayal of calm, she still hadn't quite gotten used to the idea, or the way Lily made her feel when she was around her, when she touched her, when she kissed her...

"Earth to Cassie." Her brother tugged on her braid. "We're going to meet the Aucoins at their villa for tea now. You and Lily can waste the day, and your money, away oggling the shops later."

Lily looked at Cassiopeia curiously.

"The Aucoins? Who are they?"

"Our family friends," said Cassiopeia. "Scorp and I have pretty much grown up with them every summer since before we can remember."

"Your friends have a _villa_?"

*****BWST*****

Truth be told, Lily felt a little bit uncomfortable among all of this high-class finery. Her family was rich, among the richest in wizarding Britain in fact, but they neither flaunted their wealth nor participated in "society", so this was an entirely new experience for Lily.

Currently she was seated at an outdoor table at the Aucoins' villa, wearing her one of her nicest dresses and listening to Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Aucoin gossip about people she had never heard of.

Next to her, sipping her tea in silence, sat Cassiopeia. Across from them was a girl a year older than Cassiopeia, which made her a year younger than Lily, who had been introduced to Lily as Adelaide, but with whom Lily hadn't exchanged more than two words in the entire time she had been here. The men, which included Scorpius and Adelaide's two older brothers, were seated at another table, discussing what sounded to Lily like politics.

Lily was doing her best to show the proper decorum so that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy could find nothing to fault her with, but it was starting to strain on her nerves. Besides, she was bored.

Mrs. Aucoin, who was a tall, rather stout woman in her late forties or early fifties, looked at her watch.

"Oh my, have we been here for three hours already?" she said.

_Only three hours?_ thought Lily.

"How time does fly," continued Mrs. Aucoin. "Children, why don't you run along and explore the city while there's still light while us old folks continue catching up."

Lily, Cassiopeia, Scorpius, Adelaide, and Adelaide's brother Donatien rose quickly from their seats, but Christophe, Adelaide and Donatien's eldest brother, hesitated.

"Aren't you coming, Christophe?" said Scorpius.

The young man looked conflicted but shook his head.

"No, I think I'll stay here. I'm a little old for that kind of thing now. Have fun," he said, managing to sound condescending and slightly wistful at the same time.

"Suit yourself," said Adelaide with a shrug that bounced her thick mahogany hair against her shoulders, and she led the way out of the garden, followed by Donatien, Scorpius, Cassiopeia, and Lily.

Lily felt the atmosphere physically relax as soon as the five of them were out of sight and earshot of the adults.

"So," said Donatien, "what should we do?"

"We could go to the park," said Adelaide. "There's always something going on there."

The others agreed and so they set off in the direction of the park. Well, Lily assumed it was the direction of the park, it could have been the direction of the gallows for all she knew.

The two boys and Adelaide held an animated conversation all the way to the park. Cassiopeia, as per usual, listened serenely from the background. Lily, who still had barely been introduced to the French boy and girl, walked beside her, feeling a bit left out. It was only when the conversation turned to her though, that she finally spoke up.

"Is she going to be going to the ball, do you think?" asked Donatien.

"Yes," said Scorpius. "What else would she do? Stay at home?"

"She's going to need a new dress then," said Adelaide, eyeing Lily's attire.

"Excuse me, but I _can_ speak French," said Lily in perfect, if slightly accented, French.

Donatien blinked. Adelaide blushed. Scorpius and Cassiopeia both burst out laughing.

"My Aunt is French," Lily continued. "Fleur Delacour, you may have heard of her."

"Who?" said Donatien.

His sister slapped him in the back of the head.

"The 1994-1995 Beauxbatons Triwizard Champion, you dunderhead," she said. "Mother of Dominique Weasley, newest model for Belle Fashion wizarding magazine."

"Ow," said Donatien.

"I apologize for my brother's idiocy. I'm Adelaide. He's Donatien." She curtsied.

"Lily," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

"How do you like France?" Adelaide continued as they settled themselves in the park with freshly bought scoops of sorbet.

"It's amazing," said Lily truthfully. "And a little overwhelming."

"You'll get used to it," said Adelaide with a wave of her hand.

"I _would_ like a new dress for the ball actually," said Lily, referring to Adelaide's earlier comment.

The younger girl grinned.

"Oh, I know just where to go."

*****BWST*****

The three girls, Scorpius, Donatien, and Christophe having opted out of this particular excursion, pushed through the doors of a small but highly elegant shop at the very end of the avenue.

"Madame Lilique's," said Adelaide as the bell rang above their heads to signal their entrance. "The best made dresses in all of Tours; my mother has been coming here since before Chris was born."

The door at the back of the shop opened and a tall, willowy woman stepped out. She could have been anywhere from twenty to seventy and her silvery blonde hair was a trait that Lily couldn't fail to regognize.

"Why, she's part Veela!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I am," said the woman, a trifle coldly. "Half actually. And you are...?"

"Lily Potter," said Lily, realizing how rude she must have sounded. "And I didn't mean to be rude. Only I have—"

"—an aunt who's part Veela yourself. Yes, I know. Fleur's mother and I are acquaintances." She looked around at Lily's companions. "Adelaide Aucoin and Cassiopeia Malfoy. Ah, it must be time for the annual summer ball. You three may come into the back room to be measured and select your fabrics."

*****BWST*****

The sheer number of different fabrics to choose from was astounding. Adelaide chose three different complimentary shades of orange, while Cassiopeia finally settled on the combination of a deep midnight blue a light sky blue that Lily knew she would look dazzling in. Lily herself was trying to decide between a cream, gold, and fawn color scheme and forest green complimented by pure white.

Adelaide came over and eyed first one set of fabrics, then the other, then Lily's face and hair critically.

"This one," she said decidedly, pointing at the cream, gold, and fawn fabrics in Lily's left hand.

"A wise choice," said Madame Lilique, sweeping the cloth out of Lily's grasp and off into yet another room.

Lily blinked.

"Er..."

"Trust me, love," said Adelaide, "you'll look stunning. The boys won't be able to keep their eyes off you."

Lily and Cassiopeia exchanged a look.

"Er..." said Lily again.

Adelaide raised an eyebrow. "Not into boys?"

"No, not especially," said Lily.

"Well, then the lesbian girls won't be able to keep their eyes off of you."

"I'm afraid she's taken," said Cassiopeia lightly.

Adelaide's other eyebrow shot up.

"You two are...?"

Both English girls nodded.

"Well doesn't that beat everything," said Adelaide and left it at that.

*****BWST*****

It was the day of the ball and even Lily, who usually didn't care much for fancy dresses and make-up and the like, was excited to see what her new dress would look like. The three boxes (Cassiopeia's mother had ordered a dress as well) came with the post that morning and the three females eagerly took off to the drawing room to try them on.

Lily opened her box, pulled out the dress inside, unfolded the fabric, and gasped. The bodice of the dress was fawn, while the skirt and strap that when over one shoulder were both cream. In the front the skirt ended at her knees, while it extended down to just above her ankles in the back. The fabric was plain and without ornamentation except for a strip of gold fabric around the waist and another down the back where the bodice laced like a corset. Gold slippers, amber ear and nose studs, a set of simple gold bracelets, and a gold ribbon for her neck completed the outfit.

"But—but—" she stuttered. "I didn't—I didn't order this jewelry..."

"I know," said Mrs. Malfoy. "I did."

Lily stared at her. She was dressed in a floor-length, form-fitting gown of deep wine burgundy with a cowled neckline and matching gloves. She had never looked more imposing.

"Th-thank you," Lily stuttered, remembering her manners.

"If you are going to be attending the ball as a part of our family you need to look your best," said Astoria, and Lily knew that was as close to an outright acceptance of her and Cassiopeia's relationship as she was going to get from the Malfoy matriarch.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Adelaide entered the ball together and immediately broke away from their families.

Adelaide looked appropriately stunning in her v-neck, slightly tule-skirted orange dress with sleeves that fell on her upper arms and left her shoulders bare, but Lily had eyes only for Cassiopeia.

Her girlfriend's dress was a sheathe of midnight blue velvet, the skirt covered by transparent gauzy fabric the color of a clear summer sky. Matching sky blue embroidery traced across the bodice and diamonds winked at her throat and ears and on her right ring finger. Her pale hair was held back with a sky blue cloth headband. She had never looked more elegant, or more grown up.

"You look stunning," Lily murmured.

"So do you. Care to dance?"

Lily swallowed.

"I—I don't know how."

Cassiopeia looked surprised. "Really? You danced at Louis's Halloween party back in your fourth year."

"Yes," said Lily. "But that was different. This is waltzing. I don't know how to do that."

"My mother had me in ballroom dancing lessons as soon as I could walk," said Cassiopeia. "Scorpius too."

"Well mine didn't. My aunt Fleur and uncle Bill can dance, and I think my Mum and aunt Hermione are okay, but my dad's hopeless and my uncle Ron is even worse than him. I don't think Al and James have ever even tried."

"Tell you what," said Cassiopeia, "you taught me how to dance your way, now I'll teach you how to dance mine. I'll lead."

She settled Lily's hand on her back, placing her own hand on Lily's waist, then she placed Lily's other hand on her shoulder.

"There. Now listen to the music. One, two, three. One, two, tree. One, two three."

The two spun slowly around the dance floor, Cassiopeia patiently correcting Lily when she made a mistake. Pretty soon she was getting the hang of it, and able to pay less attention to her feet and more attention to the feeling of Cassiopeia's body moving under her hands.

"Would this be an appropriate place to kiss you?" Lily asked as they twirled gently around a corner.

"Probably not," said Cassiopeia. "But you can do it anyway."

Lily didn't need telling twice. She brought Cassiopeia closer to her on their next revolution and inclined her head so that their lips met briefly—she wasn't quite ready to take the next step with the girl who until very recently had been only her best friend.

They heard a loud whistle.

Pulling apart and stepping off the dance floor, the two girls looked toward the source of the noise.

A young woman was standing a little ways away, one arm wrapped around the waist of a young man who was wearing an expression as though Christmas had come early.

The young woman, who, on a second look Lily realized must be about the same age as herself, had a mane of bouncy blond ringlets which tumbled artfully around an angelic looking face with a button nose, bright cheeks, full lips, and dark blue eyes half-obscured by long honey-colored lashes.

The young man she had her arm around looked to be in his early twenties. He was solidly built with slicked-back light brown hair, a Grecian nose, and a stoic chin, the effects of which were slightly ruined by the plethora of freckles adorning his features.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, I know you!" she exclaimed, looking at Cassiopeia. "I kissed you last year! Granted, I kissed a lot of people last year, but you're a girl, so I remember you."

Cassiopeia nodded. "Cassiopeia Malfoy. I remember you too, you're Camille."

Camille nodded. "Who'd have thought the girl I chose to kiss last year to throw those buffoons off my tail was a real-life honest-to-god lesbian."

Lily was still staring at Camille. _This_ was the girl who had given Cassiopeia her first kiss? She was _gorgeous_. Lily felt the stirrings of jealously inside her stomach.

"Cassie," she said, tapping her girlfriend on the elbow. "All that dancing's made me hungry. Let's go see what's on the refreshments table."

"Alright," said Cassiopeia placidly. "It was nice seeing you, Camille."

"Hey! Whoa!" said Camille. "You haven't even introduced me to your dance partner yet."

"Lily Potter," said Lily. "And I'm Cassie's girlfriend."

"Oh, serious, are we?" said Camille with a bubbly laugh. "Better you than me. I like to keep my options open. Speaking of which..." she glanced over her shoulder at the man she had been standing with. "I have a bit of an option waiting for me right there. So if you girls will excuse me, I'll catch you later." And with a flip of her curls, a wink, and a finger-wave, she turned back to the slick-haired, Christmas-come-early-expressioned young man waiting for her next to the dance floor.

**AN: Told you I'd be bringing back Camille. Another really long chapter, though not quite as long as the previous one. It just wasn't ready to end before now. And the next chapter will partially take place in France as well. I'm still not done with Camille.**

**And, as before when Cassie and Scorp were in France, all the conversation while they are in France is taking place in French. I just wrote it English so we can all (me included) understand it.**

**Thanks for reading! It's never too late to review (though when I wrote this it was too late at night for me to think of a clever way of asking you to).**

**-SQ**


	41. Who's A Slut, Spoiled, Single, and Not

**Author's Note: Gah, this was a hard chapter to write. Nothing wanted to happen. To get to Lily's seventh year and the other plot points I wanted to get to I first had to get through the rest of the summer, which is what this chapter is. I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: I own exactly what I did last chapter, namely, not Harry Potter.**

**Chapter Forty-One: Who's A Slut, Who's Spoiled, Who's Single, and Who's Not**

The party went on late into the night. And for the first time Cassiopeia's mother let her remain after the younger children had been taken home to bed. As a result, she, Lily, and Adelaide were happy, exhausted, and just a little tipsy from champagne when they and their families finally retired from the party.

"That was so fun!" Lily giggled, walking arm in arm with Cassiopeia on one side and Adelaide on the other. "I've never been to a fancy ball like that before. I thought it was going to be stuffy and boring, but I actually had a really good time!"

"It's so much better when you get to stay after all the little kids are gone, isn't it, Cassie?" said Adelaide, whose mother had begun letting her remain later at the party three years previously.

Cassiopeia nodded.

"This was the best Summer Ball I have ever attended," she said, smiling first at Adelaide then at Lily. Lily bent down and pecked her on the lips.

Mr. Malfoy sent them a _look_; he did not approve of public displays of affection. Especially between two people of the same gender. The three girls stifled giggles. Draco looked as though he was going to come back and break them up, but his wife laid a hand on his arm and said something to him in a soft voice. He huffed and turned back to look in front of him.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia slept late the next morning. Well, Lily slept late. Cassiopeia slept late for her, which meant that she woke at a quarter to eight. When Lily finally dragged herself out of bed at half-past eleven, Cassiopeia was curled up like a cat on a chair in the parlor, immersed in a book.

"Good morning," she said, closing her book in her lap.

"Ugh," said Lily. "My head hurts."

Cassiopeia giggled.

Lily narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend.

"What's so funny."

Cassiopeia just shook her head, giggling, but Scorpius, who had just come down the stairs, still dressed in his pajamas, answered for her.

"You're not used to drinking alcohol, are you?"

Lily shook her head, then winced.

Scorpius guffawed.

"Ow! Don't be so _loud_."

"Imagine getting a hangover from a few glasses of champagne!" said Scorpius, still sniggering.

Lily glared at him.

"Shut it, Malfoy!"

Scorpius just grinned.

"Cool it, Potter. I'll get you a potion and then you'll be right as rain. It wouldn't do for my parents to see you like this, after all. My father already has a low enough opinion of you."

"Gee, thanks," said Lily dryly, but accepted the proffered potion.

It really did work. After a few minutes her headache had disappeared and the light no longer hurt her eyes and the noises no longer hurt her ears. She also felt ravenous.

"Mother and Father are out for the day," said Cassiopeia, uncurling herself from her seat. "Let's go find lunch somewhere."

Lily bit her lip. She had promised her parents that she would use her babysitting money to pay for most things on this trip, and she had already nearly run out.

As usual, Cassiopeia seemed to read her mind.

"My treat." she said firmly.

*****BWST*****

The two girls and Scorpius went out for lunch at an adorable little deli down the street, then they went to call on the Aucoins and Scorpius stayed at their villa with Christophe and Donatien while Adelaide joined Lily and Cassiopeia for a walk. They meandered through the park and then turned back onto the street and toward the shops. Suddenly a voice called out.

"Cassiopeia! Lily!"

The three girls turned around and saw Camille waving at them from the other side of the street.

"Who is that?" asked Adelaide curiously, looking at the gorgeous blonde.

"A friend from the ball," said Cassiopeia, crossing the street to where the older girl was standing.

Lily and Adelaide followed, the latter curiously, the former grudgingly.

"Hello!" said Camille cheerfully, beaming at them. "I don't believe we've met," she added to Adelaide. "My name is Camille."

"Adelaide," said Adelaide. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," said Camille. "Fancy running into you here. What are you all up to?"

"Not much," said Cassiopeia. "Just enjoying the summer day."

"Me too," said Camille. "Mind if I join you?"

Lily started to say that, yes, she did mind if Camille joined them, but Cassiopeia said, "Not at all," and the other blonde fell into step beside them.

As Camille chattered on and on about this and that, Lily's mood became darker and darker. The charismatic and gorgeous French girl was taking all of Cassiopeia's attention away from her. What right did this interloper have to come in and ruin their day! ? She was a slut, that's what she was, a flirt and a slut. Worse than Tamzen. Would probably jump anything that moved. Certainly not a good influence for Cassiopeia. Lily was sure Astoria wouldn't approve. She kicked a pebble moodily.

"So, how long have you two been together?" asked Camille, breaking through Lily's brooding thoughts.

"Not very long," said Cassiopeia. "Only a month. But we've been friends for several years."

"Oh, one of _those_ relationships," said Camille knowingly. "Well, I wish you the best of luck." She sounded as though she thought they were going to need it.

"It has nothing to do with luck," snapped Lily irritably.

"Everything has to do with luck!" said Camille. "Life is one big craps game. You never know what numbers will come up on the dice." She winked at Lily. "Not that I mind. So far I've been pretty lucky in my rolls."

*****BWST*****

Not long after that Camille bid them goodbye, much to Lily's relief. The rest of the day managed to be enjoyable, but when Lily and Cassiopeia were getting ready for bed that night, Lily sitting behind Cassiopeia on her bed and running a brush through the other girl's waist-length tresses, the blonde brought up Camille again.

"Lily, why don't you like Camille?"

"What makes you think I don't like her?" asked Lily tightly, jerking the brush through a stubborn knot.

Cassiopeia took the rough handling stoically.

"Because you don't," said Cassiopeia. "Personally I find her delightful."

"You would," said Lily darkly, jerking the brush another time.

"Why won't you tell me why you don't like her?" asked Cassiopeia.

"You want to know why?" said Lily. "Fine. I'll tell you why. She's self-centered and a show-off and a shameless flirt. She's a right slut."

"Now I wouldn't go that far," said Cassiopeia mildly as Lily yanked at her hair once more.

"And why not?" said Lily. "You saw how she was around the boys at the ball."

"Why, you're jealous," said Cassiopeia incredulously.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Lily defensively.

"You are. You're jealous."

Cassiopeia twisted around so she was facing Lily.

"Lily. Dear, dear, Lily, you have nothing to be jealous of. So what if she was my first kiss? It meant nothing. I'm yours I have been since the day I met you."

Lily felt suddenly ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Cassie," she said. "I just...she's so gorgeous..."

Cassiopeia smiled. "I didn't notice. I was too busy looking at you."

Lily laughed and ran the brush again through Cassiopeia hair.

"I've been pulling too hard, haven't I?" she asked.

"A little," Cassiopeia admitted.

Now Lily felt even worse than before. Cassiopeia was fragile! She knew that. Scorpius had told her that. He trusted her with his little sister, and for some reason that trust meant nearly as much to her as Cassiopeia's feelings for her did.

"Sorry," said Lily, kissing the top of Cassiopeia's fair head.

"It's okay," said Cassiopeia, reaching up and threading her fingers through Lily's own hair. "As long as you're here to kiss it better."

They were quite lucky that it was Scorpius and not one of the elder Malfoys who came upstairs a quarter of an hour later to tell them that it was time to be in bed.

*****BWST*****

Lily was genuinely surprised when she woke up one morning, looked at the calendar, and realized that it was the day they would be returning to England.

"Are you packing?" Astoria asked, sticking her head around the door frame.

"Er—I'm about to," said Lily, throwing her legs over the side of the bed.

"Come down and have breakfast first," said Astoria. "Cassiopeia is already down there. I am going to go and wake up Scorpius."

Lily dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Cassiopeia was perched on a stool sipping from a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning, Lovely Lily," said Cassiopeia.

"Good morning," said Lily, crossing the room to give her a peck on the lips. "Is it really time to go home already?" she added, sitting down at the table and helping herself to a crepe from the stack.

"I'm afraid so," said Cassiopeia, reaching over onto plate and nabbing a fingerfull of syrup. "But when we get back we'll get to see Leslie, Emily, and Jo again."

Lily grinned. "That's true. And soon school will start. I can't believe I'm going to be a seventh year."

"Let's not think about school now," said Cassiopeia.

"Why not?" said Lily. "I thought you liked school."

"Oh, I do," said Cassiopeia. "But right now it's summer."

"And there's no school allowed," finished Scorpius as he entered to kitchen, followed by his mother.

"Says the guy who no longer has to go to school," said Lily.

Scorpius shrugged and piled strawberries and powdered sugar onto his plate until his crepes were completely invisible. Obviously Cassiopeia wasn't the only Malfoy with a sweet tooth.

*****BWST*****

"Does everyone have everything?" asked Mr. Malfoy, eying Lily, his children, and his wife sternly. "I don't want to have to come back here to get something someone has forgotten."

Everyone double checked their trunks and then nodded.

"Alright," said Mr. Malfoy. "Scorpius, you go first."

Scorpius took a handful of Floo Powder, threw it on the blazing fire, and said clearly "Malfoy Manor."

Scorpius's mother followed him, and Lily followed her. A few seconds later Cassiopeia came through the fireplace, followed by her father.

The first thing out of Draco's mouth after he brushed the ash from his jacket was, "Well, goodbye Potter." He looked pointedly at the fireplace he had just vacated.

"Er...goodbye," said Lily, casting a glance at Cassiopeia.

The shorter girl blew her a kiss behind her father's back.

_I'll see you soon._

*****BWST*****

There was one week left until school was to start. Lily and Cassiopeia were back to babysitting Leslie, who was even more full of energy and excitement than they had remembered.

"I don't know how my mother did it with three of us," said Lily as she rested, panting, on the living room couch after having played a game of "evil fairy, good fairy"—a kind of mix between tag and charades—with Leslie and Cassiopeia.

"Well, when there are more than one they can entertain each other," said Cassiopeia.

"Or fight with each other," said Lily.

Cassiopeia looked at her.

"You fought with your brothers?"

"Of course," said Lily. "All the time. All siblings do, it's like the sibling code of conduct or something."

"I never fought with Scorpius," said Cassiopeia.

"Really?"

Cassiopeia shook her head.

"Weird..."

"Why is that weird?" said Cassiopeia slightly defensively.

"Because _all_ siblings fight with each other," said Lily. "It's normal."

"Are you saying that Scorpius and I aren't normal?"

"Well, frankly, yes, I am," said Lily. "I just can't believe that you really haven't had a single fight with him in fifteen years."

"Well, it's true," said Cassiopeia, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What if both you and Scorpius wanted the same thing?" asked Lily. "I dunno, a toy or a dessert or something."

"Our parents got two."

"What if there was only one?"

"I got it," said Cassiopeia.

"You've really been kind of spoiled, haven't you?" murmured Lily pensively.

"Spoiled?" said Cassiopeia, a slight defensiveness in her tone once more.

"I don't mean that in a bad way exactly," said Lily. "But you and Scorpius have pretty much had whatever you want all your lives haven't you? You don't act like a spoiled brat or anything, though Scorpius has and does sometimes."

"Please don't insult my brother," said Cassiopeia softly but firmly.

"I don't mean to," said Lily. "At least not anymore. But it's true that he sometimes does act kind of like a spoiled heir, especially when he was still in school."

"Your brother James is an heir too," Cassiopeia pointed out.

"Yes," said Lily, "but not in the same way Scorpius is. Your family has been pretty much aristocracy for untold generations. Sure, my parents are rich and famous now, but they didn't grow up that way."

Cassiopeia nodded thoughtfully.

"You have a point. I never really thought about that."

Lily grinned.

"Tell the _Daily Prophet_! There's something Cassiopeia Malfoy hadn't thought about!"

Cassiopeia giggled.

"I don't know everything. Far from it actually."

"I know," said Lily. "But sometimes it _seems_ like you do."

"An illusion," said Cassiopeia.

"Smoke and mirrors," agreed Lily.

"And acute observation," added Cassiopeia with a hint of a Malfoy smirk.

"Hey!" shouted Leslie, stamping her foot impatiently. "Aren't you going to play with me?"

*****BWST*****

The weekend before the start of term Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione took Lily and Hugo to Diagon Alley to purchase their school supplies for the new year.

They were planning to go straight from the Leaky Cauldron to King's Cross Station on the first of September, and it seemed as though they weren't the only ones with this idea.

"Hi Lily, hi Cassie!" said Marica, running up to them and giving them each a hug in turn. She then proceeded to peer over their shoulders.

Lily laughed.

"He's around here somewhere." She opened her mouth to call her cousin's name, but Dawn, who had appeared behind Marica, beat her to it.

"Oi! Louis!"

Louis's blond head appeared in the crowd.

"Ce qui?"

"Someone's looking for you," said Cassiopeia demurely.

Louis looked puzzled for a second, then caught sight of Marica.

He was across the room in two strides.

"Je vous ai manqué, mon amor."

"I missed you too, you impossible boy," said Marica with a smile, leaning in to kiss him teasingly on the lips.

"Can't you two have some respect for us singles?" said Dawn in a plaintive voice.

The others looked at her.

"Single?" said Marica.

"What about River?" said Lily.

Dawn looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I—er—broke up with him."

"What for?"

"I didn't want to be tied down to a boyfriend I hardly ever got to see," mumbled Dawn, staring at the floor. "I know it sounds really petty, but I wanted to be available when I went back to Hogwarts, since he's not going to be there..."

"That makes sense," said Cassiopeia. "That kind of relationship is difficult to make work. Of course, that doesn't mean it can't," she added, looking at Louis and Marica. Lily's heart started beating again.

"So, what did you guys do over the summer?" asked Dawn as the five of them walked down Diagon Alley, Marica nestled in Louis's arm and giving him sharp jabs with her elbow whenever she deemed it necessary, which seemed to be quite often.

"Ow," protested Louis, rubbing his side. "Not much really. I've been looking for a job but no luck so far."

"He's got it into his head that he's going to be a professional photographer," said Marica.

"I think that's a lovely profession," said Cassiopeia.

"If you want to be broke," said Marica, giving Louis another jab in the ribs. "What about you, Dawn?"

"Same old, same old," said Dawn with a shrug. "Spent a lot of time with River before we broke up. It's Lily and Cassie who had the exciting summer. Tell us about France!"

So Lily and Cassiopeia did. It was in the middle of their narrative, when they were telling their friends about the Summer Ball, that they realized that Dawn and Marica didn't know that they were dating, and they hadn't a clue how to tell them the news.

"Er..." said Lily, glancing at Cassiopeia.

"Camille was there again," Cassiopeia offered. "The girl who kissed me last year."

"Oooh," said Dawn. "Did she kiss you again?"

"Definitely not," said Lily a bit sharply.

Dawn and Marica looked at her strangely while Louis tried—and failed—to keep from laughing.

"What Lily means to say," said Cassiopeia with her usual soft straightforwardness. "Is that the only person who's going to be kissing me is her."

Marica's jaw dropped, Dawn still looked utterly bewildered, and Louis lost his battle against laughter completely, letting of Marica to double over with mirth.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" said Marica, too distracted to even aim a kick at her howling boyfriend.

Lily did the job for her as Cassiopeia replied, "That depends on what you think I'm saying."

"Why would Lily be kissing you?" said Dawn.

"Because we're dating," said Cassiopeia simply.

"But—but—you were hardly talking when last term ended!" protested Marica.

"Yeah, well, that would be because we didn't know what to say to each other," said Lily a little sheepishly. "Or mostly I didn't know what to say to Cassie. It's not every day you realize you have decidedly un-friend-like feelings for your best friend.

"Did that girl Camille turn you lesbian when she kissed you, Cassie?" asked Dawn.

Lily bristled, but Cassiopeia said, "No. And I'm not a lesbian, per say. I simply don't consider gender as a factor in whom I like. I make no distinction."

"So you're bi?" said Marica.

"I suppose you could say that," conceded Cassiopeia.

"I'm not gonna lie, it's really weird to think that two of my best friends are dating," said Dawn. "Especially two of my female best friends. Not that I have a problem with that or anything, but..."

"It's a little weird for us too," Lily admitted. "But on the other hand it's amazing. Who better to date than your best friend, right?"

"I suppose so," said Dawn dubiously. Then she pouted. "Now this leaves me as the only single one! How is that fair?"

"You won't have to stay single for long if you don't want to," said Louis. "With that figure and those legs."

This time Marica did kick him.

"Hey! I was just saying, guys at Hogwarts are monstres pour le sexe."

"In other words, they're horny," Cassiopeia deadpanned.

The other four stared at her in shock for a second, then all five of them burst out laughing.

_Cassie really does know how to evaporate an awkward situation_, Lily thought, looking at her girlfriend admiringly.

Lily, Louis, and Dawn all looked up and noticed the shop they were passing at the same moment.

"Who wants ice cream?" they said in perfect unison.

The five friends entered Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor amid fresh gales of laughter.

**AN: So, perhaps not the most exciting chapter. Though really "exciting" isn't the word I would use to describe this fic. 'Long' yes, lol.**

**You know where the review button is (I hope) ! ;)**

**-SQ**


	42. Chapter 42: No Less Complicated

**Author's Note: Writing the was even more of a slog than usual because my laptop broke in the middle of it & I didn't have access to it for 2 months . In fact there is a scene I had planned that will never be because I was just about the write it when my computer fell & now I don't remember what I was going to write.**

**Two characters we met a good while back are in this chapter again. The chapter you originally meet these characters in is chapter 24, back in Lily's 5****th****, Cassie's 3****rd**** year, if you want to go back & remind yourself. They're only mentioned like once or twice after that until now, but I wanted to bring them into the story again.**

**This chapter feels a little awkward to me, but, then again, that's sort of the point, because Lily feels really awkward & it's Lily's story. I really hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint, it is pretty long, 4,606 words of story text, excluding title, ANs, etc.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter it would still be an unfinished idea sitting in a document on my computer with all of my other original story ideas.**

**Chapter Forty-Two: No Less Complicated**

Lily and Cassiopeia walked through the barrier onto platform 9 ¾ holding hands, and every eye on the platform zeroed in on them. Well, they didn't really, but that's what it felt like, as though they might have been wearing big neon signs reading: "Look! We're Dating!"

And why should that bother her? She liked dating Cassie, liked holding her hand and touching her hair and kissing her; just being around her made Lily about five times happier. So why did it all of a sudden feel so awkward to be holding hands in the middle of platform 9 ¾? It wasn't not like the rest of the Hogwarts population didn't know she was a lesbian.

"Are you okay, Lily?" asked Cassiopeia, peering up into Lily's face.

"Er—yes. Yes, I'm fine," said Lily.

"Do you not want us to hold hands here?"

Lily started. "What? No—no I—we're girlfriends, we should be holding hands."

"Only if you're comfortable with it."

"I am comfortable with it," said Lily, both to Cassiopeia and herself. Neither of them was convinced.

*****BWST*****

The train ride to Hogwarts was different without River and Louis. For the first time Lily found herself the one with a significant other while two of her best friends (Her two best friends? Was Cassiopeia still her best friend now that she was dating her?) were without. And yet the four friends acted like just that—four friends. They played Wizard's Chess and Gobstones and Exploding Snap. They bought and playfully fought over treats from the trolley. They ragged on Hugo about being in Slytherin and being appointed Head Boy when he came into the compartment for a while. Then his girlfriend came in and got all offended by their remarks, which kind of put a damper on things.

_Should we be acting like that?_ Lily thought, watching as Hugo's girlfriend, who was perched on his lap, nuzzled her face into his neck and teased her fingers through his hair. She tried to trail her fingers flirtatiously along Cassiopeia's thigh, but ended up letting them fall somewhere around her knee. She just couldn't do it. Not in front of other people. It felt too much like putting on a show for someone else.

_Is there something wrong with me?_

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia sat cross-legged on her bed while Lily knelt behind her, combing out her pale fall of hair down her back and onto the coverlet beneath them.

Cassiopeia sighed and leaned back so that her head was resting against Lily's collarbone. Lily bent her face over Cassiopeia's, her fingers and the comb still buried in the other girl's hair.

Merlin Cassiopeia had gorgeous eyes.

Lily brought her lips to Cassiopeia's, sliding her hands (the comb had been lost somewhere along the way) along the ripples of hair cascading down the blonde's shoulders and arms. Their fingers linked and Cassiopeia sighed against Lily's lips, her own lips parting a fraction. Lily inhaled Cassiopeia's signature flavor as she brought their joined hands up along Cassiopeia's ribcage, making the smaller girl shudder slightly against her.

The dormitory door opened.

Lily let go of Cassiopeia as though she was a little kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

The two fifth year girls in the doorway were staring at them with their eyes wide, mouths frozen on the words of some forgotten conversation.

"I—er—" said Lily. "Well, goodnight, Cassie. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Lily," said Cassiopeia as Lily squeezed past the two fifth year girls still standing frozen in the doorway.

*****BWST*****

Lily felt terrible. She had more or less just run out on Cassiopeia in the middle of making out with her! What kind of a girlfriend was she? She loved being close to Cassiopeia when they were alone, but as soon as someone else entered the scene she felt so...so...self-conscious. It wasn't even the fact that Cassiopeia was two years younger than her, as after her talk with Scorpius that no longer bothered her; it was just...well, really she didn't know what it was. Only that she was uncomfortable acting like...well, like Cassiopeia's girlfriend when there were other people around.

_I wish I could talk to Louis._

*****BWST*****

Lily didn't know which was worse, the people who, in spite of her squeamishness about public displays of affection, did find out that they were going out, or those who still thought they were only best friends. The first group kept commenting on how Lily was dating her best friend (why did that fact matter so much anyway?) and the second group asked things like, "So, did you meet anyone over the summer?" Lily had thought that actually starting to date Cassiopeia would make all her problems go away, but somehow things just seemed more complicated than they had before.

And the more she dwelled on her feelings, the more prominent they came. By the time the end of the month rolled around she couldn't even walk down the hall with Cassiopeia without feeling as though they were standing in a spotlight. Finally she decided enough was enough. She would have to something about this before she completely lost it, and what she had with Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

"Cassie, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Cassiopeia looked up from her book.

"Of course," she said, her voice betraying none of her nervousness. "What about?"

Lily sat down next to Cassiopeia and raked her fingers through her short, red hair.

"Does this relationship feel…awkward to you at all?"

"Awkward?" asked Cassiopeia, cocking her head to one side. "Things are only as awkward as you make them."

"That's very philosophical and all, Cassie, but it doesn't really answer my question."

"I don't know," said Cassiopeia. "It isn't awkward for me, but it seems to be awkward for you. Is there something I'm doing wrong?"

"How can it not be awkward for you if it's awkward for me?" asked Lily in frustration.

"As I said," said Cassiopeia, "things are only as awkward as you make them."

"You're supposed to have the answers," said Lily.

"I'm sorry," said Cassiopeia. "How am I supposed to tell you how you feel if you don't know yourself?"

"It hasn't stopped you before," said Lily resentfully.

"Lily, if I'm doing something wrong please tell me."

"That's it," said Lily, "I can't think of anything you _are_ doing wrong. This summer was…amazing; perfect. I felt like I was living a fairy tale. And I thought when we came back to school it would continue to be that way, but it's not working out like I imagined. Isn't getting together with the person you like supposed to make things less confusing? Are we best friends or are we girlfriends? Can we be both? Where does that put Dawn and Marica? How are we supposed to act around each other? Every time I try to act like your girlfriend in front of other people I just feel…weird."

"You didn't have any issues with it over the summer."

"I didn't _know_ those people," said Lily. "I don't—I don't want people—my friends, my classmates, my teachers—_looking_ at me when I'm kissing my girlfriend. What—what are they thinking? I don't even know who knows that we're dating. I feel like some sort of insect under a microscope." She shuddered. "It didn't feel this way with Trinity or Kat."

That hurt, but Cassiopeia kept her face classically impassive. Nothing felt wrong about being with Lily to her—for the first time in her life she felt like she had found someplace where she belonged that fit into the rest of the world. She knew fitting in wasn't nearly as important as most people seemed to think it was, but it did feel kind of nice every once in a while.

"I wish…" said Lily. "I wish I wasn't a lesbian!"

Lily swung her bag over her shoulder and walked away. Cassiopeia let her go, not, for once, because of any instinctive knowledge, but because she didn't know what to say.

*****BWST*****

Lily didn't know how to act like Cassiopeia's girlfriend. The school environment didn't exactly give them that much alone time, and they generally opted to spend their evenings in the common room with Dawn and Marica; their two friend had assured them that if they wanted to go somewhere more…secluded it was fine with them, but Lily had sworn that having Cassiopeia as her girlfriend wasn't going to change anything between her and her other two best friends.

Lily's discomfort was starting to rub off on Cassiopeia; gestures and actions that had been natural between them before took on a whole new meaning now that they were dating. She missed the easy friendship of the last two years, and the fairy tale-esque quality of the last month, but she was realistic enough to know that that couldn't have lasted, and shouldn't have lasted; there would be something wrong with their relationship if it did. _Because there's nothing wrong with it now_, she thought sardonically. Maybe this was just an unavoidable down from the high at the beginning of their relationship. It would get better. It had to get better.

*****BWST*****

"Who are you writing to, Marica?" asked Lily as she leaned around Cassiopeia to grab one of the sweets her girlfriend had set open on the table. The two girls were sitting next to each other on the sofa, close, but not quite touching.

"Louis," said Marica, smiling.

"Of course," said Dawn, rolling her eyes. "Your precious prince of debonairity."

"Dawn, debonairity is not a word," said Marica.

"It is now."

"You can't just go around making up words," protested Lily.

"Shakespeare did it."

Cassiopeia giggled. "What?" she asked when the other three looked at her. "She has a point."

Lily laughed; Cassiopeia loved Lily's laugh, especially when she was the cause of it.

"You know what we should do?" said Dawn suddenly.

Her friends looked at her.

"Remember when we had those slumber parties? We should have another one. You know, stay up all night chatting and eating pasties and such."

"Where?" said Lily glumly. "I doubt Brandi and Tamsen would be thrilled with the idea of us taking over the dormitory.

Cassiopeia got a thoughtful look on her face.

"Why can't we camp out in the Room of Requirement?"

"That's a great idea!" said Dawn clapping her hands.

"Why didn't I think of that?" said Lily, throwing her arms around the smaller girl. "Cassie, sometimes you really are brilliant."

Cassiopeia beamed and kissed Lily's cheek.

Lily's carefree cheer was immediately placed by a subdued stiffness, and she gently extracted herself from Cassiopeia's arms. Cassiopeia stifled a sigh. Was it too much to ask to want to be close to her girlfriend? She didn't consider herself clingy—she quite valued and enjoyed her time to herself and her personal space—but really.

*****BWST*****

The next Friday evening, which was the first one in October, found Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Trinity, Hugo, and Hugo's girlfriend Paige sitting in a circle on the floor of the Room of Requirement, which had turned itself into a cozy little space filled with fluffy pillows and comfy sleeping bags, drinking butterbeer (courtesy of Hugo and the Maurader's map, which Albus had gifted him with upon graduation from Hogwarts), and nibbling on a myriad of pasties (courtesy of the Hogwarts house elves).

The seven of them had agreed that no romantic activity would be taking place at this slumber party; they would play Exploding Snap and Gobstones and Wizard's Chess and BS and pig out on junk food until they passed out. In fact, Paige wasn't supposed to have come along at all—Hugo had shown up with her in tow and the explanation that he had felt bad leaving her behind all alone. Personally Lily and Cassie were of the opinion that the girl had probably guilted or whined her way into it, but for the sake of keeping the peace they kept those thoughts between themselves.

Once they had tired of all of their magical games, Dawn pulled out her pack of Muggle cards and suggested a game of BS.

"What's that?" asked Paige.

"A Muggle card game where each person has a hand of cards and—"

"Did you say a Muggle, game?" said Paige. "There is no way I am going to play a Muggle game."

"I know it sounds like it would be boring," said Trinity, "but it's actually really fun."

"I don't care," retorted Paige. "I am not playing it."

Dawn looked as though she was going to say something nasty. Cassiopeia put a hand on her arm, though she herself wasn't too thrilled with Hugo's girlfriend's attitude.

"Why don't we have a dance party?" suggested Hugo hurriedly.

"It can be a dance contest!" said Paige excitedly. "Hugo, you can judge!"

"Well, that's not really what I had in mind…"

"Good, it's settled then," said Paige.

*****BWST*****

"S-o-o-o, Da-awn," said Paige, smug after her recent dance contest win. "Do you have a crush on anyone?"

"No," retorted Dawn, who, like the rest of the Gryffindors present, wasn't too fond of the Slytherin girl and was still sore about Paige's comments about her favorite card game.

"Awww, come on," she whined. "You have to have a crush on _someone_."

"I really don't," said Dawn.

The girl pouted and turned to Trinity.

"How about you, Trinity?"

"Not unless you count celebrity crushes," said Trinity lightly.

Her thirst for gossip thwarted, Paige instead pulled out a stack of magazines.

"Who wants to look at magazines? !" she squealed, hanging onto Hugo's arm in a way that pushed the 'no romantic interactions' rule to its perimeters.

The other girls agreed, but quickly found that Paige Zabini's taste in magazines (or much of anything for that matter) left much to be desired.

It was only one in the morning when Dawn, Marica, and Lily pled tiredness and the group settled into their sleeping bags.

"But we haven't even sung karaoke!" protested Paige.

"We're really tired," Lily lied, shuddering to think of what Paige's singing voice sounded like, and what kinds of songs she would choose to sing, not to mention what she would probably have to say about everyone else's singing and selections.

Paige pouted, but Hugo was the only one who paid attention to her.

"That girl is the most insufferable person to be around I have ever met," Lily whispered to Cassiopeia, their heads lying next to each other on their pillows. "I am never inviting her anywhere ever again.

"We didn't invite her this time," said Marica crossly from Lily's other side. "She invited herself."

"We'll definitely have to plan another slumber party without her," said Cassiopeia.

"I'm down for that," said Trinity.

"I don't understand how you can be so calm about it," fumed Dawn. "I am about to pull that bitch's hair out of her head."

Cassiopeia and Trinity shrugged.

"She's not _that_ bad," said Trinity.

The Gryffindor seventh years gave her incredulous looks, which she couldn't really see in the dark.

"I usually find it more productive not to lose my temper," said Cassiopeia. "Not that I am not capable of it, of course."

The other girls snorted, remembering a certain incident back in the youngest girl's first year.

"_Good night_, girls," said Hugo's voice from across the room.

*****BWST*****

Sunny September had faded into hazy October, and Lily and Cassiopeia's relationship was still on uncertain ground. Lily knew this, and she desperately wanted to save what they had, but she didn't know how. She watched other couples obsessively, taking mental notes on how they expressed their affection for each other, but whenever she tried them—a hand on the thigh, a flirty wink, a pat on the rear—they just felt awkward and false. Even their alone time together was overshadowed by the fear that someone could walk in on them at any time; satisfying physical affection was limited to stolen kisses and caresses in empty classrooms between lessons, and that, of course, wasn't satisfying at all.

"Lily," Cassiopeia murmured against her girlfriend's lips, "why are we doing this?"

The blonde girl was sitting on a desk in an empty classroom, her arms looped loosely around the redhead's neck, heals hooked behind the older girl's knees. Lily was in the process of ravaging her mouth while her hands worked their way under the back of Cassiopeia's bra.

"Kissing?" asked Lily.

"No," said Cassiopeia, pulling away from Lily and scooting back on the table. "Kissing in here. Like that we're dating in some kind of secret; like what we're doing is something wrong."

"I just—it's more private here," said Lily. "More intimate."

"An empty classroom is hardly an intimate setting, Lily," said Cassiopeia. "And, honestly, this frantic making out doesn't feel any more real that all that stuff you put on for show when we're around other people."

"What do you mean, 'that I put on for show'?"

"Oh, come on, Lily," said Cassiopeia. "Don't treat me as if I were stupid. There is nothing natural and organic about this relationship anymore. It feels like we're—like we're putting on an act of what we think a couple should be like, instead of actually being one."

"You don't want to be with me?" asked Lily.

"Of course I want to be with you, Lily," said Cassiopeia. "But right now I feel like I'm not with you."

"What do you want me to do then! ?"

"Stop trying so hard," said Cassiopeia calmly. "Figure out what it was that you liked about me in the first place and go back to that. And if you can't find it…" she swallowed. "Then maybe…" her voice trailed off. "I can't tell you what to do."

"Cassie, stop being so obscure and confusing!"

"I don't mean to be obscure and confusing," snapped Cassiopeia. "It seems you don't need any help from me to be confused."

"Somehow I don't feel much like making out anymore," said Lily.

"You know," said Cassiopeia, "neither do I."

*****BWST*****

Lily sat morosely in the common room, writing down recipes for Potions. Even her favorite class couldn't cheer her up at the moment. The seventh year workload was immense, she and Cassiopeia may be fighting, and, to put the icing on the proverbial cake, she was facing her first Halloween at Hogwarts without one of Louis's parties.

"Hey, Marica."

The dark-skinned girl was the only one of Lily's friends sitting at the table with her, as Dawn and Cassiopeia were both at Quidditch practice.

"Yes?"

"What are we going to for Halloween, now that there will be no Louis Party to go to?"

"Hm," said Marica, "I hadn't thought of that. I suppose we could throw our own party."

"It wouldn't be a Louis Party though," said Lily.

"You could ask Hugo what he's doing; I'm sure the resident Prince of Slytherin has got something planned."

"The question being, of course, whether we want to be involved in it," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

The resident Prince of Slytherin did, in fact, have something planned: An illicit late-night trip into Hogsmeade and, more specifically, to the Hogshead to get drunk.

"Come on, Lily, it'll be fun," her cousin wheedled. "You're a Potter! _And_ half Weasley. You _have_ to sneak off of school grounds at least once in your time at Hogwarts, and your chance is almost up."

"I have absolutely no wish to sneak off of school grounds, especially to spend time at that creepy pub getting pissed with a bunch of Slytherins," said Lily. "And neither do Cassie, Dawn, or Marica. Not to mention that kind of alcohol tastes gross."

"Oh you're no fun," pouted Hugo. "Paige won't go either. Apparently the Hogshead 'gives her the creeps'"

"Well that is one thing your girlfriend and I can agree on then," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

In the end, Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, and Trinity, as well as Lorcan and Lysander Scamander and Cassiopeia's third year friend, Bryan Carmichael and his friend Aaron Towler decided just to go to the feast and hang out in the Great Hall for whatever the school put together for Halloween.

Dawn, however, had other plans.

"I cannot _believe_ that you are actually going with Hugo and all those Slytherins to the Hogshead!" said Lily.

She, Dawn, Cassiopeia, Marica, Trinity, and Bryan Carmichael and his friend Aaron were in Hogsmeade, shopping for their Halloween outfits. It was Bryan and Aaron's first time in the village, and their eyes were nearly bugging out of their heads as they twisted their heads around so quickly it was a wonder they didn't get whiplash.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" asked Marica.

"Hugo asked me," said Dawn, "and I think it sounds fun. Besides, not all Slytherins are bad, and it's not like when your parents were at school; Slytherins and Gryffindors aren't automatically out to get each other. And it's not only Slytherins. _And_ Hugo wouldn't let anything happen to one of your best friends."

"I still think you're insane to want to go to that dingy place," said Lily.

"Not to mention how much trouble you could get in if you were caught," said Marica. "Being off school grounds _and_ drinking. Who knows what could happen once you're under the influence."

"Are we going to spend all day talking about this or are we going to buy some outfits?" said Trinity, directing pointed look at the backs of the two third years' heads.

*****BWST*****

After hitting up the usual Hogsmeade hangouts—Zonko's, Honeyduke's, the Shrieking Shack—mostly for Bryan's and Aaron's benefit, the seven friends made their way to their favorite clothing store. The girls all picked out their outfits with much giggling and posing, then they turned their attention on the two third year boys.

"Do you have any idea what you want to wear for Halloween?" Cassiopeia asked them kindly.

Bryan, who was naturally shy, and Aaron, who was a little in awe of being asked to spend his first Hogsmeade weekend with a bunch of seventh years, shook their heads mutely.

Dawn clapped her hands.

"This is perfect!"

Trinity grinned.

"Between me and Cassie I'm sure we can come up with something."

The next half hour was spent with the girls dressing up the boys as if they were their own personal baby dolls.

"That vest is good on Aaron, Cassie, but we should try it with this shirt."

"Not those shoes, Dawn, are you crazy? !"

"Oh no, these pants are all wrong for Bryan. Lily, can you go over and look on that rack, I think I saw a gray pair that would look good on him."

Finally, many changes of clothes later, the two boys were placed side-by-side for inspection. Bryan had on a bright pumpkin orange shirt with a black jacket sporting a white skeleton pattern complete with skeleton cuff-links. The gray pants had been rejected in favor of a black pair complete with a skull belt and pumpkin orange combat boots with black laces. A black top hat adorned with artificial spider webs adorned his brown curls.

"Cassie," he whispered, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. "I feel _really_ conspicuous."

"But you look adorable!" gushed Dawn.

"And it's nothing compared to what Aaron has on," pointed out Trinity.

It was true; the other boy was wearing blood red skin-tight leather pants from which a myriad of chains with moving links shaped like bats, pumpkins, spiders, and skulls dangles artfully. On his feet were combat boots similar to Bryan's, only these were pattered with swirling black and orange fire. His shirt was sparkly silver and ruffled, with a blood red and black striped vest over top of it. Around his neck he wore a necklace with a silver dagger hanging from it, and there was a matching earing in his left ear. Marica had charmed streaks of orange and red into his blue-black hair and the girls had had a lot of fun gelling it up into spikes. He had even consented to having his lips painted a bright red and his eyes outlined in thick black eyeliner, topped with glittery silver eyeshadow. His fingernails had also been painted to resemble miniature flames.

Bryan looked at his friend and then back down at his own outfit, fidgeting with is skeleton cufflink.

"I know," he mumbled. "But I just…I'm not comfortable in these clothes." A tear slid from the corner of his eye down the side of his nose.

"Oh Bryan, don't cry," said Cassiopeia, wrapping her arms around the younger boy. "You don't have to wear those clothes if you don't want to. We can find you another outfit to wear for Halloween."

"I—I just feel like I'm letting all of you d-down," he sniffled. "You sp-pent so much t-time on this and—"

"Shhhh," this was Lily. "We never meant to make you do anything that made you feel uncomfortable. We're really sorry, Bryan."

"Why did you go along with it in the first place if you didn't like it?" asked Marica.

"I…y-you're all s-seventh and f-fifth years and I'm only a th-third year—"

The girls looked at each other, horrified.

"Oh, Merlin," said Trinity.

"Bryan, just because we're older than you doesn't mean you can't say no to us!" said Dawn.

Bryan just shrugged.

All five girls piled onto the small boy in a hug.

"Come on, Bry," said Cassiopeia, lifting the top hat off of his curls. "Let's find you an outfit that you're comfortable wearing."

*****BWST*****

Bryan ended up leaving the store with a pale orange button-up shirt, a simple black jacket without the skeleton pattern but with skeleton cuff-links, black jeans with skeletons on the back pockets, the same skull belt, a pair of black sneakers with skeleton laces, and a light orange newsboy cap with an adorable smiling pumpkin on the brim.

"You're right," said Aaron, looking at him, a hand on his hip. "That is a lot more you."

Bryan gave him and the girls a shy smile and then went into the dressing room to take off the outfit. When he came back out and went up to the desk to pay, however, the upperclassmen wouldn't hear of it.

"Absolutely not," said Trinity as Bryan and Aaron reached for their wallets.

"Trinity's right," said Lily.

"Totally," agreed Dawn.

"This is on us," said Cassiopeia.

"You really don't have to do this," said Bryan, blushing as the girls all pulled out their wallets to pay for their and the boys' clothes.

"I know," said Dawn, smirking and tossing her brown/blonde hair over her shoulder. "That's what makes us so nice."

Aaron's face split into a huge grin and he actually jumped up and down clapping his hands.

"OMG!" he squealed. "Galinda!"

"Huh?" was the response of the rest of the group.

"Who's Galinda?" asked Trinity.

"She's a character in a musical," explained Dawn excitedly.

"Not just any musical," put in Aaron. "Just about the best musical of all time!"

The two of them high-fived and began squealing excitedly about musical theatre.

Lily looked at Bryan.

"Is he always this hyper?"

The thirteen-year-old nodded. "Sometimes it's a little frightening."

Lily smiled at him and put an arm around his shoulders, her other hand finding its way into Cassiopeia's without her conscious awareness. The younger girl chose not the comment on his increasingly rare easy act of simple intimacy.

"Why don't you, me, Cassie, and whoever else cares to join us see about finding some lunch at the three broomsticks?" Lily asked Bryan.

The boy's eyes lit up.

"Will I get to try butterbeer?"

"As much as your little heart desires," Lily assured him.

**AN: Okay, I know you probably all forgot about Bryan a long time ago, but I really wanted to pull him into the story again. He's just so adorable! Aaron wasn't originally going to really be a character (he was mentioned briefly as Bryan's friend way back when), but then I decided to put him in the Hogsmeade part since he is Bryan's friend (pretty much his only friend besides Cassie), & then he kind of evolved & I now totally have plans for him. And Bryan and Cassie have had contact over the past two years, it just hasn't made it into the story because it wasn't relevant to the plot.**

**Also, the musical Dawn was referencing was **_**Wicked**_**, which I love dearly. I often do the hair toss to reference Galinda.**

**The next chapter features Lorcan and Lysander Scamander (who are now in their second year) as well as communication with Louis that we actually get to see, rather than just have it mentioned. Halloween, obviously, begins the next chapter. I was going to put it in this one, but it just didn't fit.**

**Please tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading this long-ass story **

**-SQ**


	43. Chapter 43: Communication

**Author's Note: Why did writing this fic sometimes feel like slogging through mud? I wanted to get it written because I wanted to get it up & I wanted to figure out what frickin' happened! But I didn't want to **_**write**_** it. But it finally got written, and here it is. Halloween and the month of November because, as usual, I managed to fall short of my 2 months per chapter goal.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: For the forty-third time, no, I'm not J.K. Rowling! Sheesh.**

**Chapter Forty-Three: Communication**

Halloween arrived accompanied by a thick, low-hanging fog which enshrouded the Hogwarts grounds like a cloak. In anticipation of a very late night, Lily, Dawn, and Marica slept in until nearly eleven o'clock. Cassiopeia, of course, had been up since dawn, putting the finishing touches on her Halloween costume. The other girls had had fun buying and planning theirs together but Cassiopeia had insisted on keeping her outfit a surprise, and had proved immune to her friends' and girlfriend's wheedling to spill the beans.

"Cassie? Are you awake? We're all going down to breakfast if you want to—oh."

Cassie opened the door and looked up at Lily.

"'Am I up?' What a silly question. Give me one minute to put on my shoes and I'll join you."

*****BWST*****

The rest of the day was spent more or less whiling away the time until the Halloween feast. An hour before the feast was to start, Lily, Dawn, and Marica departed for their dormitory, leaving Cassiopeia, Bryan, and Aaron sitting in the common room in front of the fire.

"Do you need any help getting ready?" Cassiopeia asked the boys.

"I don't think so," said Aaron. "I can help Bryan with anything he needs. Oh, except it would be great if you could do my makeup for me."

"Of course," said Cassiopeia. "Let's go do that right now so I have time to get dressed myself afterwards."

Cassie followed the third years up to their dormitory and sat both of them down on the end of Aaron's bed.

"Now…to work."

*****BWST*****

"Help me with this corset, would you Lily?" said Dawn, twisting this way and that to try to see the laces up her back.

"Well hold still then!" said Lily, taking hold of the laces and pulling. "Tell me when it's tight enough, okay?"

Beside them, in front of the full length mirror, Marica was applying her eyeliner.

"Wow, Marica," said Lily, looking up from Dawn's corset laces.

Dawn looked too and whistled.

"Wow is right! Almost makes me wish I was like Lily and could appreciate it properly!"

Marica's dark cheeks darkened even further. She was dressed in a tight, floor-length gold dress which hugged her curves perfectly. Her hair was streaked with gold as well, and an Egyptian collar rested around her neck and down to her chest. Her eyeliner was thick and black and extended over to her temples. There was more gold painted on her lips and eyelids and also on her fingernails. On her feet were leather sandals, which showed off toenails also painted gold.

"Do I look like an Egyptian princess?"

"Definitely," said Dawn.

Marica looked at her friend and raised her eyebrows.

"Is that _all_ you're wearing?"

Dawn was dressed in knee-length candy-striped socks, black combat boots, a very tight, very short brown leather skirt, the bright red corset whose black laces Lily had just finished tightening, and a brown pirate hat perched jauntily on her brown/blonde hair.

"Yep," said Dawn. "What do you think?"

"I think you're wearing just about as much as Tamzen," said Marica.

"And _I_ think you're going to freeze," added Lily.

Dawn shrugged. "It's Halloween. It's not like I dress like this every day."

"You'd better not!" said Lily and Marica at the same time.

Dawn just stuck her tongue out at them.

"Are you almost ready, Lily?"

"Nearly," said Lily, fingering one of the curls she had allowed Marica to charm her fringe into. She was dressed in deep blue nearly from head to toe: deep blue leggings, a deep blue button-up shirt, and a deep blue headband perched atop her head. The only other color on her, besides the red of her hair, were her boots and cloak, which were both of a shimmery material which was deep blue in some lights and silver in others, and the silver stars glinting from her nose and each of her earlobes.

"Come on, Lily," said Marica, "stop fussing with your hair; there's not enough of it to be worried about."

The three seventh years came down the stairs and cast their eyes around the room for the three younger students.

"Girls! Girls! Over here!"

Lily, Dawn, and Marica looked in the direction of the voice and saw Aaron jumping up and down, waving his hands above his head. Beside him both Cassiopeia and Bryan looked slightly embarrassed at all the attention they were garnering.

Lily laughed.

"Let's go rescue those two from Aaron, and Aaron from himself!"

The two boys looked even better than they had in the store. Bryan, looking blushingly pleased with how he had turned out, was fingering one of his skeleton cufflinks, while Aaron blatantly flaunted his over-the-top ensemble.

As the three older girls approached the third years parted as though it had been choreographed and Cassiopeia stepped out from behind them.

Cassiopeia was always gorgeous, always had been and probably always would be, but there were times when her beauty would strike Lily all over again as if she was noticing it for the first time; this was one of those times.

The younger girl was wearing a simple black turtleneck which hugged her slim figure quite becomingly. Her skirt was made of layers upon layers of black tule studded with silver moons. A circlet of blood-red roses encircled her head, from which her hair fell in one long, waist-length braid threaded with black and silver ribbons. On her feet was a pair of black slippers with silver buttons, but the crowning glory of her outfit rose from her shoulder blades: arching black wings shot through with veins of silver and hung with thin silver streamers.

"Wow," Lily breathed, taking Cassiopeia's hand in her own. "You look even more like a faerie than ever."

"That was kind of the point," said Cassiopeia with a small, teasing smile.

Lily swallowed and dropped the smaller girl's hand.

"Shall we—erm—go down to dinner then?"

*****BWST*****

The six Gryffindors met up with Lorcan and Lysander Scamander in the Great Hall. The mousy-haired twins were dressed in matching jesters' outfits, belled hats jingling with every step they took.

"Hi, Lily," they chorused, seemingly completely unaware of the odd looks they were getting. "Hi, Dawn. Hi, Marica. Hi, Cassie. Hi…we don't think we know you."

"Aaron Towler," said Aaron. "And this is my friend Byran Carmichael."

"Hi," said the Scamander twins. "We're Lorcan and Lysander Scamander."

"Do you always do that?" said Aaron.

"Do what?"

"Speak at the same time."

"Mostly," replied the twins.

*****BWST*****

The Great Hall was decked out as elaborately as ever: floating candles, live bats, cobwebs hung everywhere, jack-o-lanterns large enough for a man to stand inside comfortably.

After the feast, which was a delicious as the decorations were spectacular, Dawn departed with Hugo and his entourage of Slytherins while the rest of them stayed behind as the teachers magically swept the tables up against the walls to make room for the student body to mix and mingle.

Lily, Cassiopeia, and Marica had never been to the Hogwarts sponsored Halloween night festivities, having always attended Louis's party instead. It was surprisingly fun; various amateur bands took turns on the stage and after a while the floor was opened up to karaoke.

"Go up and sing something, Lily!" urged Marica, pushing her toward the stage.

"What? No way!" said Lily.

"Why not?" said Lorcan and Lysander

"Because I can't sing a note!" said Lily. "_You_ go up there and sing something, Marica!"

Marica shook her head.

"Oh no, not me. Lorcan and Lysander go."

"Not us," the Ravenclaws chorused. "Make Bryan go."

The third year's eyes went as round as saucers.

"It looks like somebody's already up there," remarked Cassiopeia.

The rest of them looked up at the stage. There was indeed someone already up there. And that someone was Aaron Towler.

"Hello!" said Aaron into the microphone, rocking forward onto his toes as his hands gesticulated animatedly around him. "My name is Aaron Towler, and I will be singing the song 'Fearless' by Taylor Swift." When all he received was blank looks from his audience Aaron sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically, one hand on one jutting hip. "She's an American Muggle singer from the early teens. _Honestly_." He gave a nod to the caretaker, who was in charge of the music, and the song began to play.

"_There's somethin' 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained_

_There's a glow off the pavement, you walk me to the car_

_And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there_

_In the middle of the parking lot, yeah._

_O-oh yeah…_

"_We're drivin' down the road, I wonder if you know_

_I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now_

_But you're just so cool, run your hands through your hair_

_Absent-mindedly makin' me want you._

_And I don't know how it gets better than this_

_You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless_

_And I don't know why, but with you I'd dance_

_In a storm in my best dress, fearless._

_So baby drive slow until we run out of road_

_In this one horse town, I wanna stay right here_

_In this passenger seat, you put your eyes on me_

_In this moment now, capture it, remember it._

'_Cause I don't know how it gets better than this_

_You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless_

_And I don't know why, but with you I'd dance_

_In a storm in my best dress, fearless._

_Well you stood there with me in the doorway_

_My hands shake, I'm not usually this way_

_But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave_

_It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really somethin'_

_It's fearless._

_O-o-oh, yeah…_

'_Cause I don't know how it gets better than this_

_You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless_

_And I don't know why, but with you I'd dance_

_In a storm in my best dress, fearless._

'_Cause I don't know how it gets better than this_

_You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless_

_And I don't know why, but with you I'd dance_

_In a storm in my best dress, fearless._

_O-o-oh, oh yeah_

Aaron finished the song with a twirl and bowed, flouring his arm in front of him. The Great Hall erupted into raucous applause and whooping cat-calls; Aaron took another couple of bows and curtsies, blowing kisses to the crowd and pretending to accept bouquets of flowers. Lily was clapping so hard her hands hurt, Cassiopeia was actually jumping up and down, Marica was giggling madly, and Bryan's eyes were the size of dinner plates, only the twins looked nonplused, but they generally looked nonplused about everything.

"Encore!" someone shouted, and the call was taken up by the rest of the Hall. _"Encore! Encore! Encore!"_

"Alright! Alright!" said Aaron over the buzz of the Hall, obviously drinking up the attention.

He went over to the caretaker and whispered something in his ear. The man nodded and turned his wand on the speakers.

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Roma, roma-ma_

_Gaga, ooh la la_

_Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah_

_Roma, roma-ma_

_Gaga, ooh la la_

_Want your bad romance_

Aaron's whole demeanor had changed from the last song. He twisted his body around the stage, torso leaning forward toward the audience, eyes rolling in his head, his grin manic and somehow seductive at the same time.

The thought _'A thirteen year old should not be able to do this'_ ran through Lily's head.

_I want your ugly, I want your disease_

_I want your everything as long as it's free_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love, I want your love_

_I want your drama, the touch of your hand_

_I want your leather studded kiss in the sand_

_I want your love,_

_Love, love, love, I want your love_

Aaron was interacting a lot more with the audience this time, leaning toward them, singing the lines sometimes to them as a whole and sometimes to individual members.

_I think he's just made himself a heartthrob in this school_, thought Lily.

_You know that I want you_

_And you know that I need you_

_I want it bad, bad romance_

_I want your love, and I want your revenge_

_You and me could write a bad romance_

_I want your love and your love is revenge_

_You and me could write a bad romance_

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah_

_Roma, roma-ma_

_Gaga, ooh la la_

_Want your bad romance_

_I want you horror, I want your design_

'_Cause you're a criminal as long as you're mine_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love, I want your love_

_I want your psycho, your vertical stick_

_Want you in my rear window, baby, you're sick_

_I want your love_

_Love, love, love, I want your love_

_(Love, love, love, I want your love)_

_You know that I want you_

_And you know that I need you_

_('Cause I'm a freak bitch, baby)_

_I want it bad, bad romance_

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, caught in a bad romance_

_Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah_

_Roma, roma-ma_

_Gaga, ooh la la_

_Want your bad romance_

_Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah_

_Roma, roma-ma_

_Gagah, ooh la la_

_Want your bad romance_

Lily knew she wasn't the only one who just about died when Aaron began to strut down the stage in an exaggerated runway walk. _If I was straight and four years younger…_

_Walk, walk, fashion baby_

_Work it, move that bitch crazy_

_Walk, walk, passion, baby_

_Work it, I'm a freak bitch, baby_

_I want your love and I want your revenge_

_I want your love, I don't wanna be friends_

_J'ai ton amor et je ceux ton revenge_

_J'ai ton amour, I don't wanna be friends_

_No I don't wanna be friends_

_(Oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh, caught in a bad romance)_

_I don't wanna be friends_

_Want your bad romance_

_(Oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh, caught in a bad romance)_

_Want your bad romance_

_I want your love, and I want your revenge_

_You and me could write a bad romance_

_I want your love, and all your lover is revenge_

_You and me could write a bad romance_

_Want your bad romance_

_(Oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh, caught in a bad romance)_

_Want your bad romance_

_Want your bad romance_

_(Oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh, caught in a bad romance)_

_Rah, rah, ah-ah-ah_

_Roma, roma-ma_

_Gaga, ooh la la_

_Want your bad romance_

Aaron struck a final pose as the Great Hall burst into applause once more.

"What'd you think?" he asked breathlessly as he came down from the stage and rejoined his friends.

Lily shook her head.

"You are absolutely insane."

Aaron shrugged. "I know," he said cheerfully.

*****BWST*****

The party was supposed to last until midnight, which inevitably meant that it would be going until about one in the morning. At half past eleven Cassiopeia began to yawn, and by a quarter to twelve Bryan and the twins were close to falling asleep on their feet.

"I say we call it a night," said Cassiopeia, supporting a barely awake Bryan with an arm around his waist.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," said Lily, who had a Scamander twin leaning against each shoulder.

"Do we have to?" pouted Aaron.

"Unless you want to stay here by yourself," said Marica. "I think Bry, Lor, and Ly have just about had it."

"Everyone else is going to be leaving for their own dormitories or private parties soon anyway," said Cassiopeia.

"Hey, that's an ide—"

"Not a chance," said Lily. "You don't know what goes on at those parties."

"And you're too young to find out," added Cassiopeia as Aaron opened his mouth to protest. "_I'm_ too young to find out."

"Hmph," said Aaron. "Sometimes having friends in upper years stinks."

*****BWST*****

"So, how was your outing with the Slytherins?" asked Cassiopeia the next afternoon at lunch. Dawn hadn't gotten back until very early in the morning, and hadn't stirred form her bed until noon.

"Erm, good," said Dawn, digging into her beef stew.

"What did you do?" asked Marica.

"You know, partied, talked, got drunk," said Dawn. "Nothing super exciting."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You got drunk? Hugo got drunk?"

"Yeah," said Dawn with a nonchalant shrug. "Not pissed, just tipsy."

"Hugo's parents would flip their lids if they knew."

"So don't tell them," said Dawn. "Nothing important happened anyway. Can you pass the salt please?"

"I'm not a snitch," said Lily. "But you should be careful. I don't trust all those Slytherins, or the other patrons of the Hogshead."

"It was fine," said Dawn. "The salt?"

"You'd better finish your lunch, Dawn," said Marica. "The plates are going to clear soon."

"Well I would if Lily would pass me the salt," said Dawn.

"Oh, sorry," said Lily. She held out the saltshaker to Dawn, then snatched it back at the last second.

"Hey! Lily!"

Lily giggled and held it over her head.

"Lily! Come on!"

Finally Lily acquiesced and set the salt beside Dawn's plate. "Spoilsport."

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia and Lily's relationship was still on edge, and Cassiopeia was tired of their dancing around the problem. Someone needed to make Lily face it head on, but Cassiopeia knew herself well enough to know that she was certainly not the one to do it, even if, as the other person in the relationship, she really should have been. But since the very idea of her trying to take charge of the situation was laughable, Cassiopeia settled for the next best thing.

_Hello Louis,_

_This is Cassiopeia. I wish I could say that I was writing to you simply to say hello and because we miss your handsome face, but I actually have a somewhat delicate subject to discuss, namely my and Lily's relationship. Things have kind of gone downhill between us since school started again; I care about her more than probably anyone in the world besides my brother, and I am sure that she cares about me a great deal as well, but it is like this invisible wall has risen between us, making everything much more awkward than it has any reason to be. I am not uncomfortable with our relationship, but I am uncomfortable with what it has become; Lily seems to be uncomfortable with it, and that is making me uncomfortable in turn. I have never known Lily to be one to obsess over what other people think about her, but now it seems like she doesn't know how our relationship should work, so she is trying to make it into what she thinks it __**ought to **__be. I don't know what to say to her to make her understand that she doesn't have to __**be**__ anything; you know I am pretty much the opposite of assertive. Please, Louis, try and talk to her; you always know just what to say to her. I don't know if our friendship could survive this falling apart, and I don't know what I would do if I lost her._

_Sincerely,_

_Cassiopeia Dione Malfoy_

*****BWST*****

Lily was not enjoying her seventh year at Hogwarts as much as she had envisioned; between N.E.W.T preparations, pressures to choose what she wanted do with her life, girlfriend troubles, and missing Louis's presence more than she had thought possible, it was not even ten days into November and she was already wishing for the term to hurry up and end already.

On the morning of the tenth, though, something happened which definitely put a smile on her face.

"It's a letter from Louis!" she said, waving the parchment envelope that Louis's owl had just dropped in front of her plate.

Her cousin and Marica had been writing letters back and forth since the start of term, and truth be told Lily was a little hurt that Louis hadn't written to her before now.

"Open it! Open it!" said Dawn, leaning over her shoulder.

Marica nodded, but Cassiopeia said, "It's Lily's letter, maybe we should let her read it for herself before we stick our noses into her business."

Lily, who had actually been about to rip open the letter and read it, friends peering over her shoulder or no, nodded and tucked it into the pocket of her robes.

"Yes, I think I'll read it later when I can actually focus on what Louis is saying instead of you bunch of clowns." Dawn stuck her tongue out at Lily. "Case in point."

*****BWST*****

Lily smiled as she unfolded the parchment containing Louis's familiar swirls.

_Lily!_

_Trop longtems, ma Cherie! Forgive your miserable failure of a cousin for not writing you sooner. I was ensnared deep within the throes of lovesickness and momentarily forgot my duty as your ever-loyal domestique._

_How are you, my lovely fluer-de-lis? I know seventh year can be all nine levels of hell, but you really should enjoy it, and I'm afraid you might not be enjoying it as much as you should. Don't listen to the stuffies who tell you that you need to know what you are going to do with your life __**right now**_, _or that N.E. are the be all end all of everything. I know it sounds incredibly cliché, but graduation is the beginning, not the end, and in a year or two no one is going to care a whit about what went on while you were at Hogwarts, especially you._

_I miss you TONS and I want you to remember that even though I am no longer at Hogwarts you can still come to me about anything. If anything is bothering you, no matter how big or small, silly or serious I WANT to hear about it. Remember how you used to tell me that just talking about things with me helped more than almost anything else? I still don't know if I deserve that much credit, in fact I'm sure I don't, but talking about things does help, even if only to sort things out in your own head. I really am sorry I haven't written sooner._

_I love you,_

_Your most devoted cousin, Louis_

*****BWST*****

_Louis,_

_You have no __**idea **__how much I'm missing you this year, Hogwarts is not the same without you. You know about what's going on with Cassiopeia and me, don't you? I won't say that you know __**what**__ is going on with Cassiopeia and me, because I don't know that myself; though if you do know, please tell me. I like her, Merlin knows I like her, more than I've liked anyone, but it's different with her; none of my other girlfriends or crushes (or boyfriend, but that was another issue entirely) were my friends first, and Cassiopeia is my best friend (was my best friend). The connection I have with her…Merlin, I don't even know what it is, and that frightens and disturbs me. It's as bad as it was last year, this not knowing how to act around her, and it always feels like people are __**watching**__ us and __**judging**__ us and forming opinions, deciding what we are, when we're not even sure yet. Louis, I don't want to lose her, she means the world to me, but I know I'm not being fair to her, I've __**never **__been fair to her since the day I met her. What should I do, Louis? I wish you were here, or Teddy. How is it that the two of you were always more older-brotherly to me than James and Al? I love James and Al, I do, even if Al and I have our differences, and a lot of them, but it has always been Teddy and then, once I was at Hogwarts, you who I've gone to when I was in trouble or needed to talk. And now I'm just probably boring you. _

_Thanks for writing,_

_Hugs and kisses,_

_Lily_

*****BWST*****

Louis looked at Lily's letter. He wished he was back at Hogwarts so that he could give his cousin a big hug (okay, so he didn't wish he was back at Hogwarts, but it was the sentiment that counted). He wanted to help Lily and Cassiopeia, who he really didn't want to see fall apart over something so…insubstantial. _And isn't it always the insubstantial things that really get to you?_ Louis wanted to fix everything between his cousin and her girlfriend, but he knew this kind of thing was beyond him. What did he really know about relationships? As much of a flirt as he had been at Hogwarts, Marica was really his first true girlfriend and, once they had actually gotten together, their biggest problem had been their recent separation.

Louis fingered the letter again. He might not know the best way to help his cousin, but Lily herself had given him an idea of just who might.

*****BWST*****

_Dear Teddy,_

_How are you, my most wonderfully clumsy brother-in-law/god-cousin? Long time no talk. How is my lovely eldest sister? As unmanageable as ever? And my perfect little niece? Really Teddy, you need to write more often!_

_I'm doing as smashingly as ever, but I have a little hunch that one dear cousin of mine, and god-sister of yours, may not be. In fact it is more than a hunch; Cassiopeia wrote me the other week asking me to talk to Lily; apparently they are having some troubles figuring out exactly where they stand in their relationship. From what I gather Lily seems to be uncomfortable with any sort of public display of affection, and is second-guessing everything she does with Cassie. Cassie says that she is trying to make their relationship into what she thinks others think it __**should**__ be rather than what it is. They are both terrified of losing each other, and not quite sure how to deal with the fact that they were best friends before they got together. When I wrote to Lily she wrote me back that she doesn't feel good enough for Cassie, but I know Cassie practically worships her, has since her first year at Hogwarts. They're both looking to me to somehow make things right, but frankly I'm at a loss. I know that you're busy with Aurore and your job, but if you think there's anything at all you could do, I know Lily really looks up to you._

_Sincerely,_

_Louis_

*****BWST*****

The last Monday of November a letter arrived at the Gryffindor table that was addressed to Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica in Teddy's blocky, childish script.

_Dear girls,_

_Do you four have any plans for the next Hogsmeade weekend? If you don't I was thinking of coming down with Victoire and Aurore to see you. Louis wants to come too, and I was going to ask Helen and Kelley to come along as well if that's alright with you, Lily. Send me your answer as soon as you can so we can make our plans. You should invite Hugo too, and if you have any other friends you want to invite please feel free._

_Love you all and hope to see you soon,_

_Teddy_

*****BWST*****

Dawn, the slowest reader of the group looked up from the end of the letter.

"What do you say?" said Lily.

"I say yes!" said Dawn.

Cassiopeia nodded. "I agree, I love Teddy."

"All in favor?" said Marica.

All four girls raised their hands.

"Then I'll write him back immediately," said Lily, pulling out her quill and a sheet of parchment.

"He said we could invite other friends if we want," said Cassiopeia. "We should invite Bryan and Aaron."

"You're right," said Lily.

Dawn leaned over the table. "Hey, Bry!"

The younger boy jumped. Dawn and Aaron, who was sitting beside Bryan, giggled.

"Relax," said Marica. "We just wanted to invite you and Aaron to come with us the next Hogsmeade weekend."

"My oldest brother and my cousin are going to meet us there with a couple friends," said Lily.

"Sure!" said Aaron. "You're in, right, Bry?"

Bryan nodded. "Sure," he echoed quietly, smiling his adorable smile from under his mop of curly hair.

"Awesome," said Dawn, as Lily dipped her quill into her inkwell.

_Teddy,_

_Yes! We'd love to come. I'd be happy to see Helen and Kelley again, and of course I miss you and Louis ridiculously. And Victoire. And you know we'd take any excuse to see Aurore again; who wouldn't? I'll ask Hugo if he wants to come; our third year friends Bryan and Aaron will be coming too, I think you'll like them. See you then! We're excited!_

_Hugs and kisses,_

_Lily (and Co.)_

**AN: I really did NOT mean to put any songs in this fic, really truly, but I was trying to think of stuff to go on after the feast & I came up with karaoke & then of course I **_**had **_** to have Aaron sing & then I couldn't decide on a song…and yeah. It isn't a recurring thing, I swear. Actually, with Dawn's obsession w/ musical theatre, & mine, it's kind of surprising there haven't been any songs until now.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know? ;)**

**-SQ**


	44. Chapter 44: Natural Feelings

**Author's Note: Thank you muchly for reading :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: You know what that means.**

**Chapter Forty-Four: Natural Feelings**

The first two weeks of December seemed to drag on forever. With their planned Hogsmeade visit and then the Christmas holidays to look forward to it was all most of the students could do to pay attention in their classes. Unfortunately, pay attention they must, as the week in between the Hogsmeade trip and the beginning of the holidays was exam week. Marica was, predictably, studying like a mad-woman, and Cassiopeia and Lily weren't that far behind. The one good thing about having so much work to do was that there wasn't much time to think about relationships that were still on uncertain ground.

"I don't know how I am supposed to fit all of this into my head," Lily complained, eyes scanning the pages of notes laid out in front of her. "There just isn't any more room!"

"There's plenty of room in my head," said Dawn, "but that's only because I've forgotten everything I learned during my last six years at Hogwarts."

"I wonder if Louis will have any tips on how best to study during seventh year," said Marica thoughtfully. "I'll ask him this weekend."

"You're seeing your boyfriend for the first time in in two and a half months and all you can think about is tips on how best to _study_," said Dawn incredulously.

"I didn't say that was _all_ I could think about," said Marica, her dark cheeks coloring slightly.

"And I don't see how it's your place to comment on other people's relationships," said Lily, "Miss isn't-in-one."

"Yes, well, I'm leaving my options open," said Dawn shortly.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia woke on the morning of the Hogsmeade visit to a winter wonderland glistening outside her window.

Grinning, she dressed quickly and tiptoed out of her dormitory and up the stairs to the seventh years'. Silent as a snowflake she let herself into the room and crept over to Lily's bed. When Cassiopeia pulled aside the curtains the pre-dawn light fell gently across the older girl's sleeping form, illuminating the subtle tones in her fire bright hair and making the silver threads encircling her wrist glisten. Cassiopeia bit her lip. People could say all they wanted about her fae, ethereal beauty, but nothing could compare with her Lily. There was an earthly, homely quality about her that gave Cassiopeia a feeling of belonging and safety; the only other person she had ever felt this connected to was Scorpius. And, even knowing that it perhaps wasn't the smartest way to feel about someone, she knew that Lily could full on reject her and it wouldn't change her feelings for her in the least.

"Lily," she whispered, shaking the sleeping girl's shoulder gently. "Lily, wake up, it's snowing."

Lily burrowed further into her blankets.

"Don' like snow," she mumbled into her pillow. "'S'cold."

"But it's so pretty!" said Cassiopeia. "The first snow of the year, Lily, come and look."

Lily reluctantly opened her eyes. In the pale moonlight Cassiopeia was all wide silver-blue eyes and shining hair.

"Lily, people will start getting up and walking on it soon and then it won't be the same. Please?"

It did not escape Lily's notice that her girlfriend (and why was that thought _still_ weird after all this time?) referred to the snow after people walked on it as merely 'not the same' instead of 'ruined' as most people would.

"Alright, Cassie, alright, I'm coming," said Lily, sitting up and sliding out of bed. Then, "Brrr! The floor is cold!"

Cassiopeia, whose own bare feet didn't seem to mind the cold, giggled and tugged Lily over to the window. The two girls gazed out at the scene, lit by the first rays of a sun not yet visible over the horizon. Lily had to admit, it was gorgeous.

Cassiopeia unlatched the window and pushed it up, letting a gust of frigid air into the room.

"Cassie! That's _cold_," protested Lily, hugging her arms around her body. Then, "Cassie, what are you doing?"

Cassiopeia had wriggled through the opening in the window and was now holding out her hands to help Lily do the same.

"Are you crazy?" Lily hissed. "It's freezing out there, literally!"

"It's just for a minute," said Cassiopeia. "Come on."

She batted her long, whispery lashes and bit the corner of her soft pink lower lip with perfect pearly teeth. The next thing Lily knew she was sitting on the show-covered roof, in her bare feet and nightgown, shivering as white flakes ghosted down around her.

Brushing her fringe out of her eyes (it needed cut again) Lily looked up to see Cassiopeia rise to her feet and step toward the edge of the roof.

"Cassie! Stop! You'll fall!"

Cassiopeia turned around to smile reassuringly at her.

"I won't. I have impeccable balance."

She took another few steps and then sat and settled herself in the snow. Lily ungracefully scooted up next to her, instinctively pressing herself to the younger girl for warmth.

"Isn't it beautiful?" sighed Cassiopeia, her fair head coming to rest on Lily's shoulder.

"Yeah," admitted Lily, gazing out across the snow-covered grounds, "it is."

Cassiopeia's arm settled itself around Lily's waist and she snuggled her head more firmly into the crook of Lily's neck.

Lily was suddenly no longer the least bit cold.

"We should—er—go back inside," she said, scrambling away from the edge of the roof and back to the window. "Before everyone else wakes up. I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be out here."

Cassiopeia suppressed a sigh.

"You're probably right."

She followed Lily back into the dormitory, closing and latching the window behind her.

"Cassie," said Lily, "You're dripping all over the floor."

Cassie looked down at her sodden clothing and then up at Lily, noticing how her nightgown clung wetly to her chest and thighs.

"So are you."

The two girls met each other's' eyes, biting their lips over a sudden urge to giggle.

"I'm going to go change," said Cassiopeia. "See you at breakfast?"

Lily nodded. "With Marica and Dawn if I can get them up."

"Good luck with that."

*****BWST*****

Lily did manage to finally get Dawn and Marica up, though not without a good amount of struggle, and after a brief breakfast the four girls, along with Hugo, Byran, Aaron, and Trinity, headed out into the fresh snow in the direction of Hogsmeade village.

"So who are we going to see again?" asked Aaron, tugging his multicolored scarf more firmly around his neck.

"My big brother, well, really he's my god-brother, and his wife, who's also my cousin, their baby, who is the most adorable thing on the face of this earth, my other cousin, who's the first one's brother and also Marica's boyfriend, and a couple friends."

The two third years looked at her with round eyes.

"Sorry I asked," said Aaron.

The students were going to meet their visitors at the Three Broomsticks. Lily pushed open the door to the crowded pub and looked around the room, trying to spot her god-brother and cousins through the throng of people. Suddenly her vision was obscured by a pair of hands.

"Guess who."

"Louis!"

Lily whirled around and threw her arms around her cousin. He laughed and hugged her back, kissing the top of her head.

"Don't knock me over!" he said. "This is coveted material right here."

"Yes," said Marica. "Coveted by me."

Louis gave Lily a last squeeze and bent over Marica's hand.

"Ah, Mademoiselle, you know I will be yours, body and soul, till the last breath of air leaves my sorry—"

"Oh come here and kiss me!" said Marica impatiently.

Louis obliged and then turned around, arm still encircling Marica's waist.

"Teddy," he called, "valliant brother-in-law of mine. I have located the fair maidens and their sirs."

When no Teddy appeared he tried again. "Victoire, darling sister, our awaited party has arrived."

His words were yet again drowned out by the din.

" Oi! Teddy! Vic! They're over here!"

Marica raised her eyebrows.

"How very debonair of you."

Teddy made his way through the crowd of diners toward the front of the pub, followed by Victoire, with Aurore in her arms, and Helen and Kelley.

"Hey Lily," he said, grinning and grabbing her in a hug that lifted her right off her feet. "Hi Hugo. Hi girls."

"Hi, Teddy!" said Hugo, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica.

"And who do we have here?" asked Teddy, turning his smile on Bryan, Aaron, and Trinity.

"These are our friends," said Lily. "Bryan Carmichael, Aaron Towler, and Trinity Page."

"Pleased to meet you," said Teddy, shaking each of their hands in turn.

"I'm Teddy Lupin. And this is my wife Victoire and our daughter Aurore."

What ensued then was, naturally, a good ten minutes of everybody cooing over the little bundle of adorableness that was Aurore. Finally the whole group headed to the very back of the pub, where two large tables had been pushed together for them.

"So Lily, how have you been?" asked Helen once everybody was happily chatting and enjoying their meals.

"Pretty good," said Lily. "How about you?"

"Same," said Helen. "Actually, I just bought a house."

"You did?" said Lily. "Wow! Where is it?"

"Not too far from my family's."

"Any particular reason?" asked Lily.

"Yes actually," said Helen, smiling. "I'm moving in with my girlfriend."

"That's great," said Lily. "I'm happy for you."

"What about you?" asked Helen. "Any new love interests in your life?"

"Er, yes," said Lily. "I'm, er, dating Cassie, actually."

Helen looked surprised. "Really? If you don't mind me saying so, you don't act like you're dating."

"I know," said Lily miserably, looking at her plate.

Helen exchanged a look with Teddy.

"I see. You know what, I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic in here; what do you say you and I take a walk?"

"But I really don't like the—"

"I think that's an excellent idea," cut in Teddy. "No, Vic, we'll stay here with Aurore. It's too cold out there for her and I don't want to interrupt your conversation with Dawn. Besides, I really want to hear the end of what Aaron was saying just now. Hugo, budge on up next to Dawn. Come on now, she doesn't bite. Louis and Marica, please don't feel obliged to stick around, I have a feeling you might like some quality time."

He gave Marica a suggestive look and she blushed and hit him on the arm, but they rose from the table and disappeared swiftly toward the front of the pub, shoulder to shoulder and fingers linked.

Cassiopeia watched as Lily, too, pushed her chair back and left the pub, accompanied by Helen and, for perhaps the first time in her life, felt something akin to jealousy stir within her.

*****BWST*****

Lily and Helen walked down the frosty main street of Hogsmeade in silence for a few minutes. Eventually Helen said, "So how did you and Cassiopeia get together?"

Lily looked at her.

"Er…last summer…well, before that I kissed…I started liking her…well, no, first we were friends, but that was only after…"

Helen chuckled.

"Slow down and start from the beginning, Lily. You two have been friends for a while now, right? How did you first meet?"

Lily explained then to Helen how Albus and Scorpius had more or less thrust the younger girl upon her, and how Lily hadn't known how to get rid of her, how she had finally grown used to and even appreciative of her presence, and how their relationship had evolved into such close friendship. Then she went on the explain the events of last year, how her feelings for Cassiopeia had changed, how she had almost ruined everything, and how, just when it seemed that everything was going to finally be right, they went back to school and everything seemed all wrong again. Halfway through the telling Teddy came up and fell into step wordlessly beside them.

Helen and Teddy listened to the story without interruption, Helen nodding thoughtfully.

"It's not a bad thing to be uncomfortable with PDA, you know," Teddy said when Lily lapsed into silence. "Not every relationship has to be a public affair. I have a friend who has never so much as given his girlfriend a peck on the cheek in public, and they've been together for more than two years."

Lily looked at him. "Really?"

"Really," Teddy confirmed.

"Everyone is different," said Helen. "I don't know Cassiopeia well, but she doesn't strike me as the kind for an untoward amount of public affection either."

"No," Lily admitted, "she's not. But I feel like I owe her—"

"Stop right there," said Helen. "You don't owe her anything, especially not something she probably doesn't want in the first place."

Lily brushed her fringe out of her eyes.

"I don't want to be ashamed of who I am…"

"Well, are you?" asked Helen.

"No," said Lily.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm so afraid of losing her," said Lily softly. "I know I don't deserve her, and the way I feel around her…Merlin! It's embarrassing!"

"First of all, everyone is afraid of losing the people they care about," said Teddy. "It's only natural. Second of all, you not deserving her is a load of BS. You are a wonderful girl—sorry, young woman—Lily, and any girl would be lucky to have you. You think it's hard being in a relationship with Cassie? Try being in one with a woman who is part Veela."

Lily giggled her concession to this.

"As for the third thing," said Helen, "Teddy, I think you'd better excuse yourself for this one."

Teddy looked confused. Helen gave him a rather pointed look. Suddenly a look of comprehension dawned on his face and he stuttered. "Oh—er—yeah…I should…get back to Victoire and Aurore."

He beat a hasty retreat and Helen turned back to Lily.

"It's okay to be attracted to her, you know," she said. "You're _supposed_ to want to have sex with your girlfriend."

"_What?"_ squawked Lily.

"Relax," said Helen. "I didn't say you _should_ be having sex with her now; I started experimenting with that at fifteen and it's not something I would highly recommend, but it's only natural to want it sometimes. Your girlfriend is damn gorgeous Lily; I'd worry if you _weren't_ physically attracted to her."

Lily closed her eyes.

"Oh Merlin, how am I ever supposed to look at her again?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that Cassie probably feels the same thing?"

"What?"

"I'm willing to bet her body wants yours just as much as yours wants hers. And she has as little experience in that department as you do. It's not something you should be embarrassed about. It's natural. Straight girls spend a lot of time thinking about sex because straight _guys_ spend a lot of time thinking about sex. For us it can be different; it's not forced onto us as readily, and so it can still seem like a weird concept, but there's certainly nothing wrong with it."

"I don't think—" started Lily.

"But that's just it, you _do_ think," said Helen. "Far too much. Stop trying to love her with this"—she tapped Lily on the forehead—"and start letting yourself love her with this." She moved her finger to Lily's heart. "And maybe even this," she added with a smile, gesturing to the area below Lily's waist. The younger girl blushed furiously.

"Only when you're both ready, of course," said Helen, "but it can't be something you're afraid of. Fear, whether it's of losing the person your with or of getting too close to them, emotionally or physically, has no place in a relationship. Now, answer me this," Helen stopped walking and caught Lily's eyes with her own. "Do you care for her? Do you have romantic feelings for her? Do you want to be with her?"

"Yes," said Lily. "Of course."

"Well then," said Helen.

"Yes," said Lily slowly. "Thank you. I think I understand now. Or I don't, but I realize that doesn't matter as much as I thought it did. Do you think we can go find the others now?"

"Of course."

*****BWST*****

By the time the whole group was back together again it was time for the Hogwarts students to return to the school. Everybody said their goodbyes, Lily ending hers to Louis and Teddy with, "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?" asked the two young men innocently.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a complete idiot, you know," she said. "I write a letter to Louis, next thing I know Teddy's inviting us all to get together in Hogsmeade and then Helen is taking me off to talk on my own. Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out."

"Only to plan it," said Louis smugly.

Lily swatted him.

"Watch it, genius, or I'll sic your girlfriend on you."

"Mercy!" cried Louis, "mercy!"

*****BWST*****

Exams. Society's practical joke on students. Not only were the fifth and seventh year first term exams supposed to be "mocks" for their O. and N.E. at the end of the year, but somehow the scheduling worked out so that whenever Lily wasn't in an exam Cassiopeia was, and vice-versa. The only times they even saw each other over the next week were at meals and evenings in the common room, where studying was rampant and tempers ran high.

The night before they were to leave Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays, after all their exams had finally come to an end, Lily caught Cassiopeia's elbow on their way up to bed and held her back as the other girls, oblivious with exhaustion, continued up the stairs.

"Cassie," said Lily, "wait a moment."

Cassiopeia stopped obediently and cocked her head at Lily.

"Yes."

Lily moistened her lips.

"I've been a really rubbish girlfriend over the past two and a half months," she said.

Cassiopeia shrugged and looked at the ground.

"Come on, Cassie, you know I have."

Cassiopeia lifted her gaze to Lily's.

"It wasn't quite what I envisioned when we got together," she admitted.

"Then why haven't you dumped me?" asked Lily. "You would have had every right to, the way I was behaving."

"But I didn't want to dump you," said Cassiopeia. "I want us to be together."

"So do I," said Lily. "For real this time." She gathered Cassiopeia's long hair out of her face with one hand, the other linking their fingers together.

Cassiopeia lifted her chin and took a step back so that she was leaning against the wall, pulling Lily along with her.

"Does this mean you're not ashamed of me?" she asked softly.

"What?" said Lily. "Merlin no, Cassie. The only person I'm ashamed of is myself."

"Don't be," said Cassiopeia softly against her lips. "You're perfect."

It was all the more pleasant for its lack of urgency; gentle, soft caresses with fingers and lips as the two girls took the time to learn things about each other that they had been too shy or too self-conscious or in too much of a hurry to discover before. And it was a good while later when they finally made it up bed, the taste of each other still lingering on their tongues and feeling more content and at ease than they had in quite some time.

**AN: Oops. Lo, Christmas was originally supposed to be in this chapter; my bad. I would always start out the chapter with nothing to write about, figure something out, and then end up having that thing take up more space that I had intended. Ah well. That cringe-worthy awkwardness between Cassie & Lily is finally past! The holidays, both Christmas and New Year's, are in the chapter. Until then you can sit there and twiddle your thumbs, or put them to good use by typing a review!**

**Loves,**

**-SQ**


	45. Chapter 45: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

**Disclaimer: See previous 44 chapters.**

**Chapter Forty-Five: HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Trinity, Bryan, and Aaron shared a compartment on the Hogwarts Express on the way back to King's Cross Station the next day. Lily had expected Hugo to join them, but he never showed up.

Lily and Cassiopeia, the latter with her head in the former's lap, had drifted off, lulled by the sounds of Dawn and Aaron's animated discussion and the flipping pages of Marica's book. Lily had her fingers tangled in Cassiopeia's hair and they breathed in time with each other, Lily's head lolling against the back of the seat and her free hand dangling toward the floor. The train shuddered to a halt and Lily felt fingers jabbing into her side.

"Wake up, sleepyheads," said Dawn, grinning down at them.

"Unless you want to spend all of your Winter Holidays on the train," said Aaron.

Lily and Cassiopeia sat up and stretched.

"We're awake," said Lily. "You can stop poking us."

Dawn and Aaron giggled and poked them one last time.

"Who ever had the bright idea of introducing those two to each other?" asked Lily, tugging her and Cassiopeia's trunks down from the racks.

"I don't think anyone really had the idea," said Cassiopeia. "It just happened."

"That was a rhetorical question, Cassie."

"I know."

The group of friends trooped off the train and, after saying their goodbyes, split up to find their respective families.

"'Bye, Cassie," said Lily, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you sometime over the holidays, alright?

"Alright," Cassiopeia agreed. "See you soon then."

Lily kissed her once more and then pushed her toward where her parents were looking around for her. Casting about the crowd for her own family, it didn't take Lily long to locate them. Her brothers were absent, but her parents were, as usual, surrounded by an invisible bubble of space behind which the highly interested onlookers stood. One would think that they would have gotten used to Harry and Ginny Potter coming to platform 9 ¾ by now, but it seemed that for some the novelty never wore off.

Lily wove her way through the throng of parents and students until she reached them.

"Lily," said her mother, beaming. "Did you have a nice term?"

"Yes," said Lily. There was a time when she would have told her parents everything, good and bad, that had gone on over the last three and a half months, but it had been a while since she had felt the need or desire to do that.

Unfortunately…

"Ron said that Hugo said something about you having a bit of a spat with Cassiopeia."

Lily nearly groaned. Really, Hugo, really?

"No, Dad, it was nothing," said Lily. "Just a misunderstanding. It's all settled now."

"That's good," said Harry, and luckily had enough sense (or enough experience with the expressions that were now on his wife's and daughter's faces) to leave it at that.

*****BWST*****

The week before Christmas was filled, as usual, with Christmas shopping. Lily had done almost none of her shopping before the holidays had started because her last visit to Hogsmeade had been mostly taken up by her talk with Helen and Teddy. So she and Hugo, as per usual, were doing their Christmas shopping together.

"Lily," said Hugo, leaning against the side of the fireplace as Lily zipped her bag. "I don't' see why you didn't take Apparition lessons last year. Then you could have your license by now like me and we could both simple Apparate there."

Lily shrugged. "Marica, Dawn, and I decided not to take them last year. Didn't feel we needed to."

"Are you going to take them this term?"

"I suppose so," said Lily.

"You'd better," said Hugo. "It's wicked, being able to Apparate."

As Lily could not Apparate, no matter how 'wicked' it might be, the two cousins flooed to Diagon Alley to do their Christmas shopping.

*****BWST*****

Christmas in the Potter household went much the same as it always did: the many members of the extended family came over for Christmas dinner, ate far too much food, made far too much noise, and stayed up far too late, and then spent the night, only to be woken up at the crack of dawn by Hugo (who by now had to set an alarm to get himself up that early) and Lily (who had been woken up by Hugo). Molly was missing from the festivities this year, as she had opted to spend them with her boyfriend, and the Scamanders were out of the country doing research, hence the twins not being the ones to wake everybody up on Christmas morning, but the house was still plenty full.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia and Scorpius's Christmas celebrations went more or less the same as always too. There was a formal Christmas Eve dinner with both sets of grandparents followed by a relatively early bedtime for Cassiopeia. The next morning she woke early, waited in Scorpius's room until he woke up, and then the two of them went downstairs to join the rest of the family for Christmas Breakfast followed by present opening followed by formal Christmas portraits, always Scorpius's least favorite part. Afterwards the day was spent in calm enjoyment of family and their presents. Cassiopeia spent most of it sitting on a chair near her maternal grandfather; he was growing very senile, and could barely hear or see anything anymore. Cassiopeia took the time to tell him about everything that had been going on in her life since she had last seen him.

*****BWST*****

"Lily," yelled Albus up the stairs. "Lily! _Oi, Lily!_"

"What, Al?" said Lily irritably, poking her head out of her bedroom door.

"If you're going to have a conversation conduct it close enough to each other so that you don't have to yell through the entire house, please!" shouted their mother from the kitchen.

Albus pounded up the stairs and entered Lily's room without so much as a by-your-leave.

"We should throw a New Year's party."

"Pardon?" said Lily.

"I said we should throw a New Year's party. Invite all our friends."

"Invite all our friends here?" said Lily skeptically. "Grimmauld Place is big, Al, but it's not _that_ big."

"Well, yeah, we'd have to figure that out…" said Lily. "Maybe I can talk to James…"

"You do that," said Lily. "And get out of my room."

*****BWST*****

As it turned out, Al's master plan to throw a New Year's party was a flop. This was because when he went to talk to James he found that there was already another party in the works: The Puddlemere United Reserve Team New Year's Bangin' Bash, and every member of the younger generation of the Potter-Weasley clan was invited.

"This is so totally gonna _rock_!" said Albus, pumping his fist in the air. "I bet there are going to be _loads_ of hot girls there."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Please, there is more to life than girls."

"You only say that because you're—oh, yeah…" said Albus.

Lily snorted.

"Anyway, the reason I came to talk to you in the first place was to ask if you know if James is at his apartment at the moment."

Albus shrugged.

"How the hell would I know?"

"Well a big help you are," said Lily.

"Sorry!" shouted Albus, not sounding sorry at all, as Lily returned to the parlor. She had something to ask James and, seeing as the party was in three days, it would be made a lot easier by being able to talk to him in person.

*****BWST*****

Lily, who had never been particularly graceful when traveling by Floo (though she looked like a swan in comparison to Teddy) tumbled out of the fireplace in James's apartment and landed at the feet of a somehow familiar looking young man with caramel skin, flippy brown hair, and a very amused expression.

"Hello there, Lily. Nice of you to drop by."

"Er, hi…?"

"Gwendon. Gwendon Jones. We met before at Saint Mungo's, but you were a bit distracted so I won't blame you for not remembering me."

"Oh of course!" said Lily, standing and attempting to shake the soot out of her clothes.

"Here," said Gwendon, "let me help you." He brushed down the back and sleeves of her shirt as she dislodged soot from her hair.

"Sorry about that," said Gwendon. "We hardly ever use it, for fires or for flooing, which means that we hardly ever _clean_ it either."

"Gwendon, are you feeling up my little sister?"

Gwendon laughed. "As lovely as she is I'd prefer someone whose older brother isn't almost five years younger than me."

James came into the room from the kitchen and Lily almost fell back to the floor she was laughing so hard: James was wearing a full white apron embroidered with blue flowers and yellow stars and holding a mixing spoon covered in brownie batter.

James glowered at her.

"Not a word to Al, you hear me? The guys got it into their heads once that I should try making brownies. Well, foolishly I took them up on their dare, ended up being _good_ at it, and they've been bribing and cajoling me to do it ever since." He shot his glare in Gwendon's direction.

"Hey, don't look at me," said Gwendon. "It was Allan who started the thing."

"You encouraged him, don't even try to deny it," said James, shaking the batter-covered spoon in Gwendon's face. Gwendon stuck out his tongue and licked it. "Hey!"

Lily giggled.

"What brings you here, Lils?" asked James, handing over the mixing spoon to a gleeful Gwendon.

"He's such a kid," said James, shaking his head.

Lily followed James back into the kitchen, which was full of the delicious smell of baking brownies.

"So?" asked James. "I assume this isn't only a spur-of-the-moment pleasure visit?"

"Not exactly," admitted Lily. "I actually had a question about your New Year's party."

"Well, it's not technically my New Year's party, it's the team's New Year's party, but go on."

"Well, as you said, it's the whole team," said Lily, biting the edge of her lip. "I was wondering if I'd really be…welcome."

James stared at her blankly.

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"Some of your teammates seemed less-than-thrilled with the prospect of your having a lesbian sister," said Lily softly.

"What?" said James. "Oh! Those jackasses! Don't worry about them, Lily, they were kicked off of the team for dueling. In fact I would have been kicked off of the team for dueling too, only Gwendon pulled some strings; he's quite good at that."

"Still," said Lily, "you nearly didn't get on the team because of my sexual orientation."

"Lils, I may or may not have simply _assumed_ that's why I nearly didn't get on the team," said James somewhat sheepishly. "And while I know that there are people at the top who aren't exactly…approving of the idea, do you honestly thing I would invite you to someplace where you wouldn't be safe?"

"No, James, of course not," said Lily. "You also don't have to sugarcoat it. 'Not exactly approving'? You mean they're homophobic."

From the other room Gwendon guffawed.

"Can't pull the wool over this one's eyes, Jamie."

"Shut it, Jones," James growled good-naturedly. "Just because you've moved up in the world doesn't give you the right to make fun of me."

"Of course it doesn't," said Gwendon. "I made fun of you _before_ I got signed. Why stop now?"

Their discussion, which surely had something to do with Quidditch, went completely over Lily's head. She tapped her brother on the elbow.

"James? One more question and then I'll let you get back to being verbally abused. Can I bring Cassie to the party?"

James looked at her.

"Um, well… No, no, no!" said James, correctly reading the look coming onto her face. "It's not because of that! It's because she's underage."

Lily's face relaxed.

"Come on James, you know Cassie wouldn't do anything to get in trouble."

"It's not her I'm worried about," muttered James. "Alright, alright, but keep in on the DL, okay? This is supposed to be a seventeen and over party."

"Okay," said Lily. "Thanks James."

She threw her arms around her brother, kissed him on the cheek, and then jumped into the Floo, shouting _"Malfoy Manor!"_ as she conjured flames and threw a handful on Floo powder onto them.

Now, Lily never would have randomly shown up at Malfoy Manor if she hadn't known for a fact that both Malfoy parents were out for the day and that her cousin Rose was already there spending time with Scorpius Malfoy, who happened to be her boyfriend.

Lily stumbled out of the Malfoys' much more pristine fireplace and right into someone who had just risen from a chair next to it.

"Oof!" said Scorpius as he and Lily landed together on the floor.

"Lily Potter, get off of me!"

Two heads, one blonde and one red, appeared from opposing doorways, turned toward the two unfortunate bodies on the floor, and then toward each other.

"It would appear that your girlfriend is in a rather compromising position with my boyfriend, Cassie," said Rose with a completely straight face.

"Oh dear," said the younger girl, also straight-faced. "How embarrassing to be caught in the act."

Scorpius grimaced and untangled himself from Lily.

"Ugh, don't make me sick!"

"I don't know, I've heard you have a thing for redheads," said Rose innocently.

"Only those with extremely bad senses of humor," said Scorpius, standing and pulling Lily to her feet. "_Do_ try to be more careful next time, Potter."

"Hello to you, too, Scorpius," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "Believe it or not Scorpius is actually _not _the person I am here to see, even if he did just compliment my sense of humor."

"Impossible!" proclaimed Scorpius. "And I did not."

"You are just asking for a sharp kick in the ego, Malfoy," said Lily.

Cassiopeia smiled. There had been a time when her now-girlfriend and her brother had really not gotten along, but now she knew that it was all just playful banter. She cleared her throat.

"Hello, Lily."

Lily grinned and gathered Cassiopeia up for a kiss.

"Hey, hey, hey!" protested Scorpius. "Older brother in the room!"

Lily ignored him.

"Cassie, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go to a party with me on New Year's Eve. It's the Puddlemere United Reserve Team's party and James invited me and told me I could invite you."

"Hold on," said Scorpius before Cassiopeia could open her mouth. "I know that party, I'm _going_ to that party, and neither of you are old enough to attend. It is a seventeen and up party."

"I am seventeen, Scorpius," Lily pointed out.

Scorpius scowled. "Fine, whatever, but Cassie isn't, and she isn't going to that party."

"Come on, Scorpius," said Lily. "You know she'll be responsible, and I'll take good care of her."

"There are too many people, too many _drunk_ people, at those kind of parties for Cassiopeia to handle," said Scorpius. "You know how she is around a lot of people. She—"

"—is in the room, you know," said Cassiopeia, arching her brows. "And I would love to go to the party with you, Lily."

"Absolutely not!" said Scorpius. "It's seventeen and over for a reason!"

"James is on the team and he said she could come," said Lily. "It's not an issue."

"I'm her brother and it _is_ an issue," said Scorpius.

"Scorpy," said Rose, causing Lily to almost choke. _Scorpy? Really? _"Come on, let her go. At least this way you'll be there the first time she goes to a party like this."

Scorpius turned his glare on her.

"And would you say the same thing if it was Hugo going to this party?"

"Hugo _is_ going to this party, smart one," said Rose. "And, knowing what you and Al got up to during your days at Hogwarts, is probably no stranger to these kinds of things!"

The couple glared at each other for a moment, but the competition was over almost before it had begun; when it came to stare-downs no one could compete with Rose Weasley.

"Fine," said Scorpius. He eyed Lily suspiciously. "But I'm trusting you with her. If anything happens…"

"I know, Scorpius," said Lily. "Thanks."

Scorpius just grumbled, but he was smiling a bit as Lily kissed Cassiopeia goodbye and stepped back into the Floo.

*****BWST*****

Lily, Cassiopeia, Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and Hugo arrived at the Puddlemere United Reserve Team's New Year's Bangin' Bash together. The venue, a large empty warehouse that had been rented out with what Lily was sure was a combination of a ridiculous amount of money and pulling the right strings, was already pumping with disco lights, music, and bodies. Cassiopeia pressed herself up against Lily as they told their names to the bouncer and then walked through the door. Lily wound her arms around her girlfriend's shoulders.

"What do you want to do?" shouted Scorpius above the noise.

"Dance!" said Hugo and Albus at the same time.

"Sounds good to me!" yelled Scorpius, and he grabbed Rose's hands and dragged her onto the dance floor.

Lily looked at Cassie.

_Care to dance?_

_I'd love to_.

The two girls wound their way around the dance floor, losing track of their brothers and Lily's cousins in the process. When they found themselves next to the refreshments table they decided to take a break.

Sitting on a bench with a piece of cake and two glasses of water between them Lily and Cassiopeia didn't even try to carry on a conversation over the noise around them. Lily had just fed Cassiopeia the last bite of the cake and Cassiopeia had teasingly licked a smudge of chocolate off the corner of Lily's mouth when arms were suddenly slung over their shoulders.

"Bonjour, mademoiselles. Belle nuit, non?"

Lily started and then smacked her cousin upside the head.

"Louis, you git!"

"Awww, ma chérie, you wound me," said Louis, sliding onto the bench in between them. "No kisses from my favorite girls?"

"I thought Marica was your favorite girl," said Cassiopeia innocently.

"Well…"

Lily and Cassiopeia kissed his cheeks.

"Where is Marica anyway?" asked Lily. "I thought you were bringing her."

"I was," said Louis. "And I did. But somehow we got separated. I was hoping she might have found her way over to you."

"No such luck," said Lily.

"Rats," said Louis.

Louis left in search of Marica and a few minutes later Dominique appeared beside them.

"Hello," she said cheerfully.

"Hi, Domi," said Lily. "Having fun?"

"Of course!" said Dominique. She opened her mouth to say something else, but then her attention was caught by something a few meters away from them.

"Is that Gwendon Jones? !"

Lily looked over. It was indeed Gwendon Jones, and upon seeing her, he excused himself to the people he had been talking to and came over.

"Hello, Lily," said Gwendon.

Beside her Dominique's eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of her head.

"_You're on speaking terms with Gwendon Jones?"_

"Er…yeah?" said Lily, not quite sure what the big deal was. "Hi, Gwendon. This is my girlfriend Cassiopeia and my cousin Dominique."

"Hello," Dominique gushed, giving Gwendon her best model look.

"Hey," said Gwendon. "I know who you are. Dominique Weasley, right? You model for Belle Fashion."

"Yes," said Dominique, looking extremely flattered that Gwendon knew who she was.

"Er…I think I'm missing something here," said Lily, looking between Gwendon and Dominique.

Cassiopeia looked amused.

"You have no idea who he is, do you?"

"Er…James's friend and teammate?"

Cassiopeia gave her signature tinkling laugh.

"Gwendon Jones is the nephew of Gwenog Jones, famous former captain and beater for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team. He's also the most recent star beater for Puddlemere United. He signed from the reserve team at the beginning of this season."

Lily blinked. Gwendon laughed.

"No much of Qudditch buff?"

Lily shook her head.

"I won't hold it against you."

He turned to Dominique.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Malfoy, Lily," he added, "would you allow me to buy you a round of drinks?"

Gwendon led the three of them to the bar and ordered them all mint juleps.

Lily sipped her cocktail (the first one she had ever had) slowly while she watched Cassie watch the people around them. The younger girl really was enthralling, with her long neck and that pale fall of hair; Lily would be content to stare at her for hours. Instead, however, she followed Cassiopeia's line of vision and saw Dawn dancing very close with a guy who was not doing a very good job of keeping his hands to himself. Not far from her Hugo was engaged in a passionate snog with a girl whose face was obscured by the back of his head.

"Doesn't Hugo have a girlfriend?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Last time I checked, yes," said Lily. "Thought if he's broken up with her it's certainly no loss on his part."

"I hope he has broken up with her, and that he's not cheating on her," said Cassiopeia.

"Hugo's not the kind of person who would cheat…" said Lily, but she didn't sound overly confident.

Soon Dominique and Gwendon disappeared back into the maelstrom of partiers, and Lily and Cassiopeia rejoined the crowd on the dance floor. They danced their way around the perimeter, on the lookout for anyone they knew, Lily keeping a tight hold on her girlfriend, who was rather nervous around so many unknown people. It was nearly time for the countdown to start when they finally ran into James.

"Lily! Cassie!" he said, grabbing them both. "Just the girls I wanted to see." It was clear that he was well on his way to being incredibly drunk. "Guys! Guys! My little sister and her girlfriend are here! Make room for them, that's it, budge over!"

Lily and Cassiopeia found themselves in the middle of a group of twenty-somethings who were obviously the members of the Puddlemere United Reserve team.

"Shhhh!" said James loudly. "The countdown's about to start!"

A young woman standing on a raised platform pointed her wand above her head and a brilliant white light flashed through the room.

"Attention!" said a young man in a voice which had obviously been enhanced by the Sonorus Charm "ATTENTION! The countdown is about to begin!"

Every face in the crowded warehouse turned to look at the group of team members. The young woman who had set off the flash of light pointed her wand above her head once more. A large, luminescent number **20** rose out of it.

"Twenty!" shouted the partiers.

The giant twenty dissipated and was replaced by a number **19**.

"Nineteen! Eighteen! Seventeen! Sixteen!"

Numbers kept shooting out of the young woman's wand and onto the ceiling above their heads.

"Fifteen! Fourteen! Thirteen! Twelve! Eleven! Ten!"

The sound of the entire room shouting out the countdown was nearly deafening.

"Nine! Eight Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

Suddenly Lily and Cassiopeia felt themselves being lifted off the ground by a myriad of hands. Cassiopeia gave a squeak that went unheard over the roar of voices and clung tight to Lily. The Puddlemere United Reserve Team hoisted the two of them onto their shoulders.

"_**HAPPY NEW YEAR!"**_

**AN: I've noticed that my asking for reviews has become a lot more, well, asking for reviews and less hints/suggestions/gentle offers as time has gone on, lol. Obviously I'd like them ;)**

**-SQ**


	46. A New Generation of Party Planner

**Author's Note: This chapter, typically, only covers 1 month instead of the intended 2. Ah well. This story does eventually have an ending, I promise! Happy reading!**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: You know what that means, or at least I sure hope so.**

**Chapter Forty-Six: A New Generation of Party Planner**

School was back in session for the new term and Louis had offered to see Lily to King's Cross Station. It was ostensibly to save Harry and Ginny the trouble, but Lily knew it was so that he would be able to see Marica once more; she did not blame him, Teddy had done the same thing in the past with Victoire, and she herself would probably do it with Cassiopeia in the future.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" he promised, as he gathered Marica against him and kissed her. She pressed herself into his chest.

"You'd better!"

Louis smiled.

"I'll try to get to Hogsmeade for your next visit."

"You'd better do more than try!" Marica said threateningly.

Louis laughed and kissed her again.

"Go on," he said, pushing her away from him, "you'll miss the train!"

The four girls hugged Louis one last time and ran toward the train, where Lily, Cassiopeia, and Dawn went in search of a compartment while Marica departed for her Prefect meeting saying, "Hugo had better be there on time or I will throttle that boy!"

Aaron ran up to them when they were halfway along the train, dragging Bryan along by the hand.

"Hi, girls! We've got a compartment already, near the back of the train! Trinity's there already, saving our spots for us! Come on!"

Lily grinned at the barely-fourteen-year-old's hyper enthusiasm.

"We're coming! We're coming!" she laughed, letting herself be dragged along by Cassiopeia, who herself was being dragged by Aaron's grip on her free hand. Dawn jogged behind them, her long limbs flailing comically.

"Wait for meeeeeeeee!"

The six of them joined Trinity in the compartment she was saving for them. Aaron and Dawn immediately launched into an excited and bouncy account of their Christmas/Hanukah and New Year's holidays while Bryan and Cassiopeia listened quietly, the latter curled up in the crook of Lily's arm while the older girl carried on a much calmer conversation with Trinity.

Twenty minutes into the journey Marica and Hugo entered the compartment, accompanied by, and Lily barely suppressed a groan, Paige Zabini.

"Hello!" said Paige in an overly sweet voice, clinging to Hugo in a ridiculous way.

"Hello," said Cassiopeia, Trinity, Bryan, Aaron, and, with great reluctance, Lily. Dawn didn't say anything at all.

"Is there room enough for us?" said Hugo, looking rather awkward as his girlfriend continued to cling to him.

"Yes," said Trinity and Aaron.

"No," said Dawn at the same time.

"That prefect meeting _definitely _could have been handled better," said Paige, ignoring Dawn and wedging herself and Hugo into the seat beside Trinity. "_You_ did _your_ part brilliantly of course, Hugh, but…" she trailed off, casting a pointed look in Marica's direction.

"Yes, well," said Hugo. "How was your summer, Dawn?"

"Fine," said Dawn, not looking at him.

"Who wants to play Exploding Snap?" asked Cassiopeia, pulling out the new deck Scorpius had given her for Christmas. "I'll deal."

*****BWST*****

School resumed as though they had never left, except that their professors were working the seventh and fifth years harder than ever in preparation for their upcoming NEWTs and OWLs.

"I've never worked so hard in my _life_," complained Lily.

She, Cassiopeia, Marica, Trinity, and Hugo were sitting in the library, their course books and papers spread out across the table in front of them. Dawn, who had claimed she had something else to do as soon as they had left the Gryffindor common room to join Hugo and Trinity in the library, was nowhere to be seen.

"We're all going to do fine," said Hugo, leaning back in his chair and shoving his Charms homework away from him. "There is more to life than grades anyway." He looked around the room leisurely then let his chair fall abruptly back to the floor. "I'm going to take a break, see you later."

He scooped his things up off the table and left quickly through the far door. Less than a minute later Paige Zabini appeared at their table asking if they had seen Hugo.

"He was just here," said Trinity, "but he left to take a break from studying."

"Why is he avoiding me!" said Paige, stomping her high-heeled foot in frustration. "Which way did he go?"

"Over there," said Marica, pointing. "Through that door."

Paige stormed off and Lily and Cassiopeia shared a look, both thinking the same thing: Was Paige just being melodramatic, or _was_ Hugo avoiding her?

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia was turning sixteen on January 31st and the five girls decided that this was a perfect opportunity for another sleepover, one to which Paige Zabini would _not_ be invited.

"I dunno if I'm gonna be able to make it," said Hugo as he, Lily, Trinity, and Marica walked up from the Potions dungeon together.

"What do you mean you don't know if you'll be able to make it?" said Lily. "This is Cassie's birthday, you _have_ to be there!"

"She's your girlfriend, not mine!" said Hugo. "And I might have some stuff to do, I'm pretty busy."

"You _are_ coming to Cassie's party," said Lily in a voice that was entirely Weasley woman. "Or I will go down to that dungeon and _drag_ you out."

"Alright, alright," said Hugo, holding up his hands. "Don't get your knickers in a knot. I'll see what I can do."

*****BWST*****

The morning before Cassiopeia's birthday party several owls arrived at the Gryffindor table. Most of them were, naturally, for Cassiopeia, wishing her a happy birthday, but one of the envelopes was dropped in front of Lily's plate.

_Dear Lily,_

_Okay, so I totally meant to write this letter earlier, but time just got away from me, what with the holidays and then moving into my new house and all. I just wanted to see how all of you are doing. Has everything worked out with you and Cassiopeia? I hope so. Have you done the dirty yet? I jest, I jest. Remember though, it's not something you should be afraid of. Say hi to all of your friends for me, I had fun meeting them, especially Aaron (that's his name, right? The hyper, gay one?). Teddy says to tell you he is going to be a regular gay Louis Weasley in a couple years, just you wait._

_Feel free to write me any time,_

_Helen Truong_

Lily read the letter, blinked, and read it again.

"Ermm…"

Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica leaned over her shoulders.

"What?"

She pointed at the last two lines of Helen's letter.

The other three girls read the passage, blinked, and read it again.

"Ermm…"

The three older girls automatically turned to Cassiopeia.

"Is he?"

Cassiopeia shrugged.

"Does it really matter?"

"Well, no, of course not," said Marica.

"But you're supposed to know these things," said Dawn.

"As flattering as your confidence in me is, I do not have all the answers," said Cassiopeia. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was gay. If you really want to know why don't you ask him?"

"We can't just ask him if he's gay!" said Lily.

"Why not?"

"Because what if he isn't?" said Dawn.

"Then he isn't," said Cassiopeia.

"What if he's not out?" said Marica.

"That is a possibility," said Cassiopeia. "Though I doubt he would act quite so flamboyantly if he were in the closet."

"He might not be sure if he's gay or not yet," said Lily. "I mean, he's barely fourteen. I didn't realize until second term of my fifth year."

"Aaron seems pretty confident with who he is, though," said Dawn. "I mean, not that you weren't but—"

"No," said Lily, "I wasn't."

"I suppose we could ask Bryan…" said Marica.

"What're you asking Bry?" said Aaron, sliding into the seat across from them.

Lily, Dawn, and Marica all jumped.

"Oh…hi Aaron…"

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, what were you saying about me?"

"What?"

"You think I don't get talked about often enough to know when I've just walked into it?"

The girls shifted uncomfortably.

"We were just wondering…" started Dawn.

"That is…" said Marica.

Lily figured that someone ought to come out and say it, and, considering she was both gay and the recipient of the letter, it ought to be her.

"I just got a letter from my friend Helen, you met her last Hogsmeade weekend, remember? She said she really liked meeting you. She also described you as 'the hyper, gay one'. Are you?"

"Gay?" said Aaron.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, yeah. Isn't it kind of obvious?" He gestured to his current attire: aqua skinny jeans and a cream-colored turtleneck sweater complimented by a pair of pink converse and a gold hoop in his left ear. He looked at their faces. "Wait. You didn't know?" He burst out laughing. "Bry! Hey, Bry!"

The smaller boy, who was sitting a few seats away, looked over at his friend.

"What?"

"They didn't know I was gay!"

"Really?" said Bryan. He giggled behind his hand. "Okay, that is kind of funny."

"Hey," said Dawn huffily, "it's not as if it's a big deal to us."

"Well, no, I had assumed not," said Aaron, waving his hand to indicate Lily and Cassiopeia. He suddenly looked at Dawn, who appeared to be counting on her fingers. "Dawn, what in Merlin's name are you doing?"

"Counting," said Dawn. "Half our group is gay, or, well, at least not straight."

"Huh?" said Lily, Marica, Aaron, and Bryan.

"Think about it. There are eight of us, including Trinity and the Slytherin—"

"You mean Hugo?" said Lily.

"Of course, what other Slytheirn would I mean? And four of you aren't straight. Half our group."

"Huh," said Lily. "I guess you're right."

"Cool!" said Aaron.

"Cool that half our group isn't straight?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Well, that too, but cool that I'm part of a 'group' with upper years!"

Dawn grinned and hugged him.

"Oh the life of privilege you lead."

Aaron laughed.

"Really though, there's a certain status you gain when you're a third year whose friends with a bunch of upper years. And a certain protection, one would hope."

"Protection?" started Lily. "Protection from—?"

"So!" said Aaron loudly. "I have a couple great ideas for Cassie's party tomorrow that I wanted to run by you."

Lily and Cassiopeia shared a grin.

Teddy was right; Aaron was a regular gay Louis Weasley.

*****BWST*****

The older students' plan to surprise the younger boys with the existence of the Room of Requirement at the time of the party fell through when Lily agreed to let Aaron help with the set up, but he and Bryan were still properly amazed.

"And no one knows about it?" said Aaron, spinning in circles so fast that he nearly fell down. _"Really?"_

"Really," said Lily, smiling. "Things change and appear and disappear so much in this castle that most people who end up coming across the Room of Requirement don't know what they've discovered. My dad only found out what it was because a house elf showed it to him. My whole family knows about it, and a few of our closest friends, but nobody else. Occasionally we bring somebody else here, but we don't tell them what it is. You should feel privileged," she added, grinning.

"Do I ever!" said Aaron. "I'm already having _major_ design ideas."

You wanna know the best part?" said Lily, grinning even wider.

"This isn't it?" asked Aaron incredulously.

"Think of one of your design ideas, something you want in the room."

Aaron considered for a moment.

"Well, a karaoke machine is really a must for any great slumber party birthday—_Whoa, wicked!_"

A karaoke machine had just materialized a few meters away.

"Come on," said Lily. "Let's go and brainstorm. We'll come back once we know exactly what we want to ask the room for."

*****BWST*****

When Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, Dawn, Bryan, and Aaron stepped out of the portrait hole the next evening they nearly bumped into Hugo and Trinity. In fact Dawn, who was at the front of the group, _did_ bump into Hugo, and jumped back as though she had been scalded.

"Merlin Hugo!" said Lily. "Scare the life out of us, why don't you?"

Hugo smirked.

"I thought you might find this useful in not getting caught on the way to the Room of Requirement." He held out the Marauders Map.

"You're coming then?" asked Marica.

Hugo nodded but did not expound upon his reasons.

The group tiptoed their way down to the Room of Requirement.

"Aaron," said Lily, motioning to the blank stretch of wall, "will you do the honors?"

"Most certainly," said Aaron. He practically bounded his passes in front of the wall, his face screwed up in concentration. On the third pass a door materialized out of the solid wall.

"After you," said Aaron, opening the door with a flourish. Lily, Cassie, Dawn, and Marica exchanged a glace. Louis _had_ to get to know this kid.

The eight of them passed through the doorway and everyone but Lily and Aaron let out a collective gasp.

The entire room was white, cushy, and padded, with colorful beanbags, pillows, and plush blankets scattered around. A stage occupied the far end of the room, complete with the promised karaoke machine. There was also what looked like a bubble fountain in the middle of the floor.

"I don't, er, have much spending money, Cassie," said Aaron, "so I was hoping this could be my present to you."

"Of course!" said Cassiopeia. "I love it."

Dawn, Marica, and Trinity set to work laying out the food they had gotten from the house elves in the kitchen. When it had all been set out Hugo reached into his bag and pulled out one last thing to add to the array; two bottles of champagne.

"I will never tell," he said, when Lily opened her mouth to ask where in Merlin's name he had gotten them.

*****BWST*****

Cassiopeia's party was a roaring success that Louis would have been proud of, though his parties usually involved more people. They blew bubbles until they grew bored with them and then sang karaoke until their voices gave out, then Cassiopeia opened her presents while they all devoured the food and champagne and, slightly tipsy, decided to have a tremendous pillow fight/wrestling match. After all, the room was padded. After that, thoroughly exhausted, the eight of them settled down on the brightly colored beanbag chairs to play Truth or Dare.

"Cassie," said Dawn, "you're the birthday girl, you go first. Pick someone."

Cassiopeia sucked her lip for a second.

"Alright…Marica. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," said Marica, leaning back against the cushioned wall.

"How far have you gone with Louis?"

Marica blushed but said steadily, "We've made out in only our underwear, and he's put his hand under my bra, but we haven't had sex. Yet."

Lily shuddered. "More than I needed to know about my cousin. Marica, your turn."

"Lily," said Marica, "truth or dare?"

"Mmmm, truth," said Lily.

"How far have _you_ gone with Cassie?"

Lily went even redder than Marica, but her voice was also steady as she said, "All our clothes have stayed more or less on, but our hands are no strangers to anything above the waist."

"More or less on?" said Marica.

"Pushed up, but not taken off," clarified Lily. "And now it's my turn."

"Dawn, how many people have you snogged?"

"One," said Dawn, counting on her fingers, "two, three, four…five, six…seven I think."

"You think?" said Lily.

"Yeah, I think," said Dawn.

"Andrew Davies," said Marica, "Zakai, James, River…who're the others?"

"That wasn't part of the question," said Dawn. "And it's not your turn. It's mine. Truth or dare, Aaron?"

"Dare!" said Aaron cheerfully.

Dawn tapped a finger against her chin, thinking. "I dare you to…try on Trinity's clothes!"

The outfit Trinity had worn that day, which was now discarded on the floor in favor of her pajamas, consisted of a navy blue sweater over a white tie-waist blouse with pink polka dots, a navy blue pleated skirt, pink and white candy-striped tights, and pink high heels with rhinestones on them.

Aaron surveyed the outfit.

"Shoes too?"

"Of _course_ shoes too!"

Five minutes later Aaron was dressed in the white, pink, and navy blue ensemble, striking poses as the girls took his picture with imaginary cameras.

"You look soooooo adorable!" gushed Dawn.

Finally Aaron sat back down on the soft floor, still sporting Trinity's clothes, and said, "Alright, Bryan, truth or dare?"

"Erm, truth," said Bryan nervously.

"Yes!" crowed Aaron. "Now remember, if you refuse to answer you have to take off an article of clothing. Do you have crush on anybody, and, if so, whom?"

Bryan stared at the floor, playing with the cuff of his pajama pants.

"Come on, Bry," said Cassiopeia kindly.

"Er—I—yeah," said Bryan softly.

"You do?" said Lily, genuinely surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah…"

"I knew it!" said Aaron, punching the air triumphantly. "Who? That was part of the question, who?"

"L-L-Liesl Greengrass."

Cassiopeia looked surprised.

"My cousin Liesl?"

"Er…I dunno, is she?" said Bryan.

"Yes. Her father is my mother's younger brother."

"She's—er—really pretty," mumbled Bryan.

Marica laughed. "No doubt she is, Bry."

"We'll see what we can do about it," said Dawn, winking.

"What? No!" said Bryan.

Lily laughed.

"She's only joking, Bry," said Lily, in a tone that said that she had better be; she could see Dawn and Aaron exchanging devious looks.

"It's your turn to ask somebody, Bryan," said Trinity.

"Er…okay," said Bryan. "Trinity, truth or dare."

"Oh…dare."

Bryan looked completely at a loss for what to dare her to do. Aaron opened his mouth to suggest something, but Cassiopeia silenced him with a look.

"Let Bryan choose his own dare, Aaron."

"No, it's fine," said Bryan, "Aaron can—"

"No he cannot," said Lily firmly. "Dare Trinity to do something, Bryan."

"Er…" said Bryan. "I dare you to…put on Bryan's clothes."

It wasn't a very good or inventive dare, but Trinity did it, barely managing to stuff her rather well-endowed self into Aaron's tight t-shirt.

"You're stretching it!" he complained. "Take it oooooff!"

Once she had changed back into her pajamas it was Trinity's turn to ask Cassiopeia the question.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," said Cassiopeia.

"What's the dirtiest thing you've ever thought about doing with Lily?"

Cassiopeia's eyes widened.

"Pardon?"

"What's the dirtiest thing you've ever thought about doing with Lily," Trinity repeated.

Pink tinges appeared high on Cassiopeia's cheekbones.

"You don't have to answer, you know," said Lily quickly. "You can remove an article of clothing instead."

Cassiopeia shook her head. "I'll answer," she said softly, "…if you don't mind."

"Okay…" said Lily.

"I've imagined letting her…lick me, all up and down, everywhere, like a cat," said Cassiopeia slowly. "And then doing the same to her."

Lily stared at the floor, heat rising in her cheeks as the imaginary scene played out in her mind. It sounded…extremely pleasurable actually.

"Marica," said Cassiopeia, interrupting Lily's thoughts, "truth or dare?"

"Truth," said Marica.

"What is your guilty pleasure?"

Marica scowled.

"No fair."

"Perfectly fair," said Cassiopeia. "What is it?"

"I have a collection of _The Adventures of Martin Miggs: The Mad Muggle_ comics at home and read through them periodically, even though I'm pretty sure I have most of them memorized by this point."

"Really?" said Dawn. "I never knew that!"

"Yeah, well, it's not something I generally tell people. Anyway, Lily, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What is the farthest you have gone with _anyone_? And who was it?"

Lily glared at her. Marica just smiled sweetly.

"Trinity and I almost had sex one time," she said grudgingly, not meeting Trinity or Cassiopeia's eyes. "We were both nearly down to our underwear, but then we just…couldn't."

"Hot," commented Cassiopeia, a playful gleam in her eye.

"Cassie!"

The younger girl just shrugged.

"It's your turn to ask someone, Lily," said Dawn.

"Right. Er, Dawn, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss Hugo."

Dawn choked on the sweet she had just bitten into; Hugo appeared to be choking simply on the air he had just inhaled.

"_What?"_

"I dare you to kiss Hugo."

"No way!"

"Come on, Dawn, it's _Hugo_," said Marica. "It's not like it means anything."

"No," said Dawn, shaking her blonde/brown head. "No, no, no."

"Then you have to take off an article of clothing," said Trinity.

"Fine," said Dawn, and pulled her fuzzy slippers off her feet.

The game of Truth or Dare went on until first Bryan and then Cassiopeia nodded off against their beanbags. Dawn, Hugo, and Aaron wanted to draw mustaches on them with brightly colored markers, but Lily, Marica, and Trinity managed to dissuade them from the idea.

"It's Cassie's birthday," said Lily.

"And Bryan would probably be traumatized for life if he woke up to find a bright green mustache drawn on his face," said Marica.

Dawn, Hugo, and Aaron pouted, but conceded the point. Soon Lily felt her own head drooping. Marica pulled out her wand and doused the lights and then curled up in a pile of beanbags and plush blankets. Trinity and Hugo followed suit. Lily spooned herself up against Cassiopeia's back, burying her face in her girlfriend's silky hair. Cassiopeia shifted in her sleep to allow the older girl to wind her arms around her waist. Lily could hear Dawn and Aaron whispering over in the corner, but before she could open her mouth to tell them to be quieter so that she could sleep she had drifted off, her breath falling naturally into rhythm with Cassiopeia's as they slept.

**AN: So, who knew Aaron was gay? I did! I did! *Grin***

**Have a good day! Oh yeah, and maybe review this story? Thanks :)**

**-SQ**


	47. Chapter 47: Rendezvous

**Disclaimer: s are as boring to write as they are to read, zzzzzzzzzzz**

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Rendezvous**

February at Hogwarts. Not winter enough for real snow, not spring enough for real sun; a month of seemingly never-ending rain, slush, and dreary grey skies. In Lily's opinion, the person who had decided on _this_ as the month of love had some serious issues, that or an over-developed sense of irony.

"But it's a perfect time for expressing your love!" said Cassiopeia, from where she was perched on Lily's lap. "Precisely _because _of the weather that keeps in indoors. "If we celebrated Valentine's Day in the middle of summer, when light and happiness surrounds us already, or in the middle of winter, when the enchanted beauty of the season is still fresh, then it wouldn't be nearly as special or uplifting. Besides," she added, "it would be too close to the other holidays."

Lily laughed. "I suppose it _is_ good cuddle weather," she said, wrapping her arms around her slight girlfriend.

"And not such a busy time of year that you don't have time for it," added Cassiopeia, leaning back against Lily's chest.

Marica came and sat down across from them, a large book under one arm.

"What are Dawn and Aaron up to?"

The other girls looked over at the corner where their two friends were huddled, heads together, whispering.

"No idea," said Lily shrugging. "They've been like that all afternoon."

"Should I be nervous?" Marica asked, eyeing the duo.

"Probably," said Cassiopeia. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what they might be planning…"

"I don't want to know," proclaimed Lily, putting up her hands. "Do not tell me, I do not want to know."

"What makes you think I was going to tell you?" said Cassiopeia, with a smirk that was much more Slytherin than Gryffindor.

*****BWST*****

As per usual, the weekend of Valentine's Day included a Hogsmeade visit. Lily and Cassiopeia were excited because they were going on their first real date since the previous summer; Marica was excited because Louis had promised to meet her there; Trinity was excited because one of her fellow Ravenclaws had apparently set her up on a blind date with his older sister's friend; and Dawn and Aaron were excited for reasons which they were disclosing to no one.

Lily and Cassiopeia strolled hand-in-hand down a lane on the outskirts of the village, having left Marica and Louis at the Three Broomsticks, a now highly skeptical Trinity waiting for her date outside of Madame Puddifoot's, and an altogether devious looking Dawn and Aaron to their own devices.

"Where are we going, Cassie?" asked Lily, as they left the path and began to pick their way over rocks leading up to the foothills of the cliffs.

"You'll see in a minute," Cassiopeia assured her with a small smile, continuing to lead the way across the rocky footing.

"I do hope you know where you're going," said Lily, somewhat nervously. "I would hate to be lost out here."

"We won't be," Cassiopeia assured her. "I've been here before."

"When?"

"In my third year when I was tricked into coming out here by my roommates."

"And you still remember the way?" asked Lily incredulously.

"Yes," said Cassiopeia simply.

After five more minutes of walking, Cassiopeia stopped in front of the entrance to a small cave.

"If I'm not very much mistaken," she said, "this is the cave that your father's godfather hid in during your father's fourth year at Hogwarts."

Lily looked at the cave.

"How do you _know_ these things?"

Cassiopeia just shrugged.

"I thought it would be a good place to eat our lunch."

The two girls laid out their picnic, courtesy, as always, of the Hogwarts house elves.

"It's cold in here," complained Lily, rubbing her arms and scooting closer to Cassiopeia on the blanket.

Cassiopeia smiled. "Luckily I thought of that."

She pulled several dry sticks and twigs from her bag, arranged them on the ground in front of them, and then drew her wand. In no time at all they had a roaring fire going.

"I brought marshmallows," said Cassiopeia when they had finished their meal.

Lily smiled. "You and your sweet tooth."

*****BWST*****

What had started out as innocently feeding each other marshmallows had turned into something more. Sticky fingers were nibbled and sucked, sweet-tasting lips and tongues here locked together, and the roasting sticks lay forgotten on the cave floor beside them as they spread themselves out on the blanket.

Lily's mouth, now cleaned of marshmallow residue, moved its way down from Cassiopeia's lips to her pale neck, remembering Helen's lessons on just where the most sensitive pulse points were located. Cassiopeia let out a series of absolutely adorable squeaks as she squirmed under Lily's ministrations, her own lips stretching down to bury themselves in Lily's hair.

High on sugar and adrenaline, saliva-dampened fingers became bolder, finding their way under layers of robes to stroke against ribs and spines, eliciting more squirming and squeaking on both sides. Then soft, delicate thumbs slid from ribs to hardened nubs and Lily nearly convulsed in shock. Cassiopeia went to snatch her hands away, but Lily caught her by the wrists and held her there, meeting her quicksilver eyes with wide, earth-colored orbs. Yes, Cassiopeia had touched her breasts before, but never had her fingers actually made contact with her nipples without the fabric of her bra in-between. Lily's eyes asked a silent permission, and when it was given she moved her hands from Cassiopeia's wrists to the blonde's own breasts, lightly fingering the small points which were as hard as her own. Lily gave a low moan in the back of her throat.

"Kiss me," she murmured. Cassiopeia obliged, sliding her mouth down the side of Lily's neck and somehow bypassing the neck of her robes to suck lightly on her collarbone. Lily's fingers tightened instinctively on the younger girl's nipples and she felt Cassiopeia's own fingers draw nail lines down from her breasts to her hips.

"I want you to have fewer clothes on," the blonde whispered.

"I'd freeze," answered Lily, her voice throaty, guttural.

Cassiopeia's voice was breathy and light, the perfect contrast, as she answered, "I'd keep you warm."

Lily bucked against her, nearly crushing Cassiopeia's hands between them. The small fingers kneaded the flesh connecting the fronts of Lily's thighs to her hips, gently brushing the very top of the hair that grew above her most sensitive area.

"Is it red too?" Cassiopeia said, her voice a higher pitch than usual.

"Haven't you seen it before?" asked Lily in a voice as low as her girlfriend's was high.

"Not when I knew to look," was the whimpered response as Lily's own hands traveled from front to back, from high to low, fingers tracing patterns on the flesh of buttocks she couldn't see.

Lily eased the pressure between their bodies, nipping lightly on Cassiopeia's lower lip as the girls sat up and extricated their hands from each other's clothing. Cassiopeia swallowed, her silver-blue eyes shining like pale stars.

"We should clean this up," said Lily, looking around and the array of lunch leftovers and marshmallow sticks.

"Yeah…" Cassiopeia rose to her knees and began gathering dishes towards her, vanishing the remains of the food with a quick spell.

When everything was cleaned up and the cave was back to how it had been when they had arrived Lily peered outside and was surprised to see how low the sun was in the sky.

"We should probably head back, Cassie," she said. "I hope you know the way, because I haven't got a clue."

"Have you really so little faith in me?" asked Cassiopeia, half-chastising, half false-wounded.

"I have all the faith in the world in _you_," said Lily. "It's these blasted hills I don't trust."

Cassiopeia giggled. "Follow me. And watch your footing."

The two girls picked their way back down the hillside and into the main village of Hogsmeade. They were almost to the main street, and thinking fondly of a couple of butterbeers at the three broomsticks before returning to the castle, when they were yanked unceremoniously into the bushes lining the path.

"Mmmph!" said Lily into the hand that was covering her mouth, struggling wildly.

"Shhhh!" hissed a familiar voice in her ear. "You almost spoiled it!"

"_Dawn?"_

"Shhhh!"

Dawn and Aaron, who was the one who had grabbed Cassiopeia, had their gazes fixed on something a few meters up the path. Lily shrugged off Dawns hands and shifted slightly so that she could see through the screen of leaves. A little ways ahead of them, in the direction she and Cassiopeia had been going, Bryan Carmichael stood with a pretty girl around his age with a dark brown bob, an upturned nose, and small dark blue eyes; the girl appeared to be saying something to Bryan, who was scuffing his toe against the earth his eyes were studying, a dark blush coloring his cheeks.

"…thought you were really cute for a while now," the girl was saying, "but you never really talked to anyone but those older students and Towler."

Bryan raised his head a fraction. "You think I'm cute…?"

"Well yeah, didn't I just say that?"

"Oh…yeah…I….er…" stuttered Bryan, reddening even further and looking like he wanted to sink into the ground.

"D'you wanna go to the three broomsticks and get a butterbeer?" asked the girl, of whose identity Lily now had a pretty good idea.

"W-with you?"

"Yes, that would be the idea."

"Uh…y-yeah….s-sure…"

The girl smiled and took his hand, causing Bryan to look at their suddenly linked fingers with wide eyes.

"Come on!" she said, tugging on his hand. "If you tell them I'm your valentine they'll give them to us at half price!"

The two third years raced away and Lily turned accusing eyes on Dawn and Aaron.

"You meddled with that, didn't you?"

Dawn shrugged. "So what if we did? I don't see them complaining."

Aaron was grinning.

"That was perfect!" he said, clapping his hands with glee. "We should start up a match-making service."

"Absolutely not," said Lily. "That would _not_ end well."

"You have to admit it worked this time, though," said Cassiopeia.

"And Bryan never would have had the balls to ask Leisl out if Dawn and I hadn't given him a little push in the right direction," said Aaron.

Lily rolled her eyes. "If things don't work out between them then I'm blaming the two of you."

Dawn and Aaron did not look particularly concerned.

The four of them made their way back to the castle, stopping at the Thee Broomsticks for butterbeers first and running into Trinity there.

"Hey Trinity," said Lily. "How was your blind date?"

"Surprisingly good, all considering."

Dawn gave her a skeptical look.

"Wasn't it at…?"

"Madame Puddifoot's, yeah," said Trinity, "but it actually wasn't all that bad. Rather silly of course, but also kind of…cute."

Lily and Dawn looked at her as though she had lost her mind.

"I know, I know, I thought I'd hate it too," said Trinity, "but Valentine's day is supposed to be a bit cheesy."

"I wish I had a Valentine to take me to Madame Puddifoot's," said Aaron dreamily. "Maybe I can convince Bryan to take Leisle there…"

"Living vicariously through your best friend, are you?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Only until I get a boyfriend of my own," assured her.

*****BWST*****

Aaron had no intention of telling his best friend the role he had played in his little Valentine's Day rendezvous, but, as usual, Dawn couldn't keep her big mouth shut.

"How was your Valentine's Day, Bryan?" she asked him at dinner that night.

"Er…good," he answered, blushing.

"Do anything _special_?" she prompted.

"Er…"

"_Meet_ any_one_ special?"

He looked at her suspiciously.

"Dawn, did you and Aaron…?"

"Erm…" said Dawn guiltily.

"You said you wouldn't!"

"Technically Lily said we wouldn't," said Dawn. "And you can't tell us you didn't have a good time with her," she added, winking.

"You were spying on me!"

"Only for part of the time," said Aaron. "It was too crowded to find you in the Three Broomsticks. Did she kiss you?" he asked eagerly.

Bryan blushed even harder and nodded.

"Merlin's pants!" whooped Aaron. "Bryan Carmichael has now been kissed!"

"Shhhh!" hissed a mortified Bryan.

"What?" said Aaron. "You liked it didn't you?"

"Yes, of course," muttered Bryan. "But can't you be a little quieter about it?"

Aaron and Dawn just grinned.

"Our little boy is growing up," said Dawn, wiping a fake tear from the corner of her eye.

*****BWST*****

"Lily, Marica, have you seen my daisy earrings?" Dawn asked a week later as they were getting dressed. "I can't find them anywhere."

"Have you checked in your jewelry box?" asked Marica without looking up from tying her shoelace.

"Of _course_ I've looked in my jewelry box," said Dawn. "It's the first place I looked, but they're not there."

"Well if you'd just put your things away where they belong when you were done with them…"

"But I want to wear my daisy earrings today," pouted Dawn.

"I'll help you look for them," said Lily, shaking her head at her scatter-brained friend. "When was the last time you wore them?"

Dawn shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Useful…" said Lily sarcastically.

She began going through Dawn's trunk, shaking out the articles of clothing that had been crammed pell-mell inside of it. She found several bracelets, one striped sock, and a whole packet of hair-ties, but no daisy earrings.

"Sorry Dawn, no luck," she said, pulling out the last item at the bottom of the trunk; a canvas bag containing Dawn's Halloween costume. "Do you think it could have fallen into here?"

She dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor. A red corset, striped socks, black combat boots, a brown skirt and hat, and a thin leather thong with a silver snake charm on the end of it fell out.

Lily held up the necklace.

"Dawn, where did you get this?"

The other girl, who had been searching fruitlessly under her bed for her missing earrings, turned around and froze.

"I…"

"This is Hugo's," said Lily slowly. "It's really special to him."

"Really?" said Marica, peering at the necklace. "I've never seen him wear it."

"You wouldn't have," said Lily. "He always wears it tucked under his clothes."

"Are you sure it's the same one?" said Marica. "Wouldn't he have said something if something that special to him went missing?"

"You would think so…" said Lily. She looked at Dawn. "How did you get this?"

"I don't…I didn't steal it," she said defensively.

"Did he _give_ it to you?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, it was…it was an accident…it came off and accidentally ended up in my stuff."

"It came off?" said Lily dubiously. "Just like that? From underneath all his other clothes?"

Dawn shook her head. "Not…not exactly…"

"Dawn," said Cassiopeia softly, "did you have sex with Hugo?"

"Not quite," she whispered.

Lily sat down hard on her bed. "When?"

"It was on Halloween," said Dawn, twisting her fingers together. "When we went to the Hogshead. There are all these back rooms there. We were all really drunk, and people started going off together to, you know, and somehow Hugo and I ended up in one of the rooms together. One thing led to another and…he's a _really_ good kisser."

Lily stared at the necklace in her hands.

"Dawn, Hugo has a girlfriend. She's a bitch on two feet, but she's still his girlfriend."

"I know," said Dawn miserably.

"Has anything happened between the two of you since then?" asked Marica.

"Only once," said Dawn. "It was the only time we've been alone together since Halloween. He was going up the corridor I was coming down, and there was this little broom cupboard off to the side…it only lasted like a minute."

"Dawn," said Lily. "That's called cheating. Like what Jesse did to you in our fifth year."

"I know," said Dawn again. "I know I'm not the only girl he's cheated on her with," she added, "but I don't know whether that makes it better or worse."

Lily was still running the leather thong of Hugo's necklace through her fingers.

"I can't believe Hugo's cheating on his girlfriend."

"Sadly, a lot of guys cheat on their girlfriends," said Marica.

"I know," said Lily. "But it's _Hugo_." She stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Marica.

"To give this back to Hugo."

"Lily, no!" said Dawn desperately. "Just—just let it be, okay? It won't happen again, I promise!"

"I need to talk to Hugo," said Lily. "Alone," she added as Cassiopeia rose to follow her.

*****BWST*****

Hugo was sitting in his usual spot near the center of the Slytherin table, surrounded by his usual group of admiring Slytherins.

"Hugo, I need to talk to you."

The reigning Slytherin raised his eyes slowly to meet those of his cousin.

"Er…Lily? I'm kind of in the middle of breakfast…"

Lily let the necklace fall from her fingers onto the table in front of her cousin.

Hugo took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright, where did you have in mind?"

*****BWST*****

Lily and Hugo walked together around the curve of the half-frozen lake, their breath puffing in white clouds in front of their wind-reddened faces.

"How long have you been cheating on your girlfriend?"

Hugo sighed, hands burrowing deeper into robe pockets.

"Dawn was the first."

"But not the last."

"No."

"Hugo, why would you _do_ that?" Lily burst out, turning to face him. "I like Paige about as much as I like Hagrid's flobberworms, but no one deserves to be cheated on!"

Hugo rubbed a wide hand over his face.

"I know, Lils. I never—I never meant to cheat on her—"

"That's no excuse, Hugo! You _did _cheat on her! You—"

"I _know_, Lils, let me finish. I didn't mean to cheat on her. Dawn and I were really drunk and we just kind of lost control...and I _know_ that doesn't excuse it. But it was never supposed to happen again. Only…I couldn't stop thinking about it. Couldn't stop thinking about _her_… Paige knows," he finished with a sigh. "Not about Dawn, but about the others."

"Well, at least you told her—"

"I didn't tell her, she just…knows."

"I can't believe this!" said Lily. "I can't believe you'd do this to someone. I can't believe someone would _let _you do this to them!"

"It's not like we're in love with each other or anything!" said Hugo irritably. "We're just…elevated fuck buddies."

Lily gave her cousin a disgusted look. "You know, Hugo, I really thought you were better than this."

"Lily—"

"I'm going inside; it is inhumanly cold out here."

"Lily! Bloody hell. Lily! Shit."

**AN: Review? ;)**

**-SQ**


	48. Chapter 48: Not Okay

**Author's Note: Here is the chapter, and I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I claim is that I should have been in bed when I first posted this.**

**Chapter Forty-eight: Not Okay**

Lily felt completely and utterly betrayed, and she wasn't even the one who had been cheated on. It was true that she and Hugo weren't as close as they had been as children; they were no longer like one spirit inhabiting two bodies and had not been that way for years, but the connection had still existed, and Lily felt as though Hugo had just severed it. At one time she would have blamed Hugo's behavior on Albus and Scorpius's influence on him, but neither her brother nor Cassiopeia's had attended Hogwarts for nearly two years, and her opinions of Scorpius and, by proxy, her brother when he was with him, were no longer quite as negative. No, the only people she could blame were the people directly involved: Hugo and Dawn.

Dawn and Marica told her she was overreacting, that Hugo and Dawn had made mistakes that many people made, that not everyone's relationship was as serious as Lily's was with Cassiopeia. Lily told them that they didn't understand, they hadn't heard what Hugo had said to her, seen what his attitude about the whole thing had been. He hadn't been _Hugo_; he had been Slytherin's stupid prince. And now NEWTs were three months away and all Lily could think about was the fact that she was fighting with her cousin and her two best friends.

Cassiopeia stayed blessedly neutral on the matter; if she had any opinion either way she kept it strictly to herself.

"Can you help me with my Potions homework, Lily?" she asked as they sat together in the common room one evening in early March, Cassiopeia having just returned from Quidditch practice with Dawn, who was currently sitting on the other side of the room with Marica.

"Of course," said Lily, pulling her girlfriend's assignment toward her. "What do you need help with?"

"I just can't visualize the amounts when I don't have the cauldron and ingredients in front of me," said Cassiopeia, sweeping her long pale hair deftly over her shoulder.

Lily leaned forward, wrapping Cassiopeia's hair around her hand in order to keep it out of the way; well, at least it was _mostly_ just to keep it out of the way.

"I'm onto you, Lily Luna Potter," said Cassiopeia teasingly, looking at her through long, wispy eyelashes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lily huffed. "I simply need to be able to _see_ the assignment in order to help you with it."

Cassiopeia just nodded sagely.

Aaron came over and plopped himself into the chair across from Lily and Cassiopeia, Bryan sliding in beside him.

"Good evening, girls!" he said cheerfully, giving them a finger wave.

"Well it's good for third years at least," said Lily raising her eyes but not her head.

"A lot of homework?" asked Bryan.

"You have no idea."

"You don't have to help me with my work if you need to focus on your own," said Cassiopeia.

"No, it's fine," said Lily. "I needed a break anyway."

"Helping Cassie with her Potions homework is taking a break?" asked Aaron skeptically.

"Potions is _fun_!" said Lily and Bryan simultaneously.

All four of them laughed and Lily felt her mood improve slightly. Still, spending time with people two and four years younger than her, even if one of them was her girlfriend, wasn't quite the same as spending time with her year-mates.

"Where were you earlier, Aaron?" Bryan asked as the girls turned back to their homework.

Aaron shrugged. "Nowhere."

"You had to have been somewhere. We left dinner at the same time and you got back to the common room a good twenty minutes after me."

"I got sidetracked."

"Friends?"

"Of course, my charm _is_ irresistible."

Lily stifled a snort.

"I thought you were working on your homework," said Aaron.

"Multitasking," said Cassiopeia, "one of the many advantages of being a girl."

"Gay boy," said Aaron airily. "Obviously the only disadvantaged one here is Bryan. It's okay, Bry," he added, patting his curly-haired friend on the shoulder. "We still like you."

Lily looked up once more from her homework. "If this is what it's like to have younger siblings I'm starting to sympathize with Al and James."

"You know you love us," said Aaron, flashing an impish smiled.

Lily and Cassiopeia's response was to return once more to their textbooks.

*****BWST*****

Lily sat near the end of the Gryffindor table, with Cassiopeia on one side of her, separating her from Dawn and Marica. Lily wondered how her girlfriend could stand it; then again, perhaps it was easier than picking sides. An owl swooped down in front of her, coming perilously close to knocking over her pumpkin juice; she untied the letter from its leg.

_Dear Lily,_

_I know you don't care much about Quidditch (I'm still trying to figure out how you could have possibly been born into our family) but even you ought to be excited by this news, if only for my sake: **I'm going to play in an actual Puddlemere United game!** I know it's horrible for me to be glad that Oliver Foxx is suffering from temporary amnesia after his 'accident' during Friday's game against the Falmouth Falcons, and I'm not, but I **am** glad that I get to play in tomorrow's game against the Kenmare Kestrals! I know you won't be able to come see me, since you're in school, and would probably be bored out of your mind if you did, but please wish me luck._

_Your loving brother,_

_James_

Cassiopeia, who had been reading the letter over her shoulder, finished before she did.

"That's fantastic!"

"What's fantastic?" asked Dawn from Cassiopeia's other side.

"James is going to play for Puddlemere United tomorrow in their game against the Kenmare Kestrals."

"That's fantastic!" said Dawn.

"Who's he filling in for?" asked Marica curiously.

"Oliver Foxx," said Cassiopeia. "Apparently he's suffering from temporary amnesia after an accident during their game against the Falmouth Falcons."

"Why am I not surprised?" said Dawn.

*****BWST*****

That evening Lily took a break from her homework to write a reply to James.

_James,_

_That's great! Of course I'm excited for you! And I'm sure you'll do brilliantly. I'm sorry about Oliver Foxx (though I can't actually remember which one he was). This means you'll be playing with Gwendon again, right? Tell him hello from me, okay? Best of luck in the match tomorrow!_

_Love,_

_Lily_

Lily folded up her letter and rose from the table; if this was going to reach James before the match tomorrow she would have to send it now.

"Where are you going, Lily?" asked Cassiopeia, looking up from her Charms essay.

"Just to the Owlery to send this letter to James," Lily replied. "I'll be right back."

Seeing as it wasn't a very popular destination at eight o'clock on a Monday evening, Lily met no one on her way to the Owlery; on the way back, however, she ran into a group of fourth-and-fifth-years playing some sort of game in the middle of the corridor.

"This way!" shouted one, holding out his arms. "Pass this way!"

"Over here!" cried another.

Whatever they were passing around the circle seemed to be of an unusual shape, not a ball or a frisbee or anything of that nature; it almost seemed to be a book, or perhaps a magazine…

Lily drew closer to the group and realized that there were several objects being passed between the boys gathered there; one was indeed a magazine, another seemed to be a jacket, another a stick that looked suspiciously like somebody's wand.

"Haha, look, the fag doesn't even fight back," scoffed one of the boys. "You want this, huh? You want this faggy coat and this faggy magazine? Look, even the package they came in is faggy!"

Just because Lily rarely displayed the Weasley temper did not meant that she did not possess it. Her wand was in her hand before she had even registered making the decision to draw it, and she strode into the midst of the startled fourth-and-fifth-years, her vision tinged in red.

"What the bloody _hell_ do you think you're doing? !"

The magazine, coat, wand, and package toppled from suddenly immobile hands.

"I am reporting _every single one of you_ to the Headmaster. You think I don't know your names, but I'll find them out, you just see if I don't! Leave right _now_ or I might forget that I'm too good to stoop to your level!"

The students scattered and Lily turned to the owner of the previously tossed-about items, who had apparently been disarmed and knocked to the floor.

"_Aaron?"_

Aaron picked himself gingerly up off the floor and began to gather his things.

"Er…hi, Lily."

"Aaron, what the _hell_?"

"I don't think I've ever heard you swear before."

"That is entirely beside the point," said Lily. "Are you alright?" She collected the last of his scattered things and then shouldered his bag herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," muttered Aaron, sounding not at all like his normal, flamboyant self. "It's not a big deal."

"It is a VERY big deal!" said Lily. "We're going to the Headmaster right now to report them."

"Lily, let it alone, it happens all the time."

Lily stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

"That," said Aaron, waving his hand vaguely in the direction that the other boys had disappeared in. "The shoving, the name calling, the taking my stuff, it happens all the time."

Lily was absolutely appalled. "And you haven't _told_ anyone?"

Aaron shrugged. "I just deal with it. They pick me out when I'm alone, rough my up for a bit, and then get bored and leave off. I try to stick with Bry as often as I can, but it's not always possible."

"You shouldn't _have_ to 'just deal with it'," said Lily furiously. "What they're doing to you is _wrong_ Aaron. It's bullying and it's homophobia and it's _wrong_."

Aaron just shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Pretty much since I started at Hogwarts."

"Almost three _years_ and you've never done anything about it? !"

Aaron mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?"

"If I wasn't so flamboyant then they wouldn't pick on me so much."

Lily grabbed Aaron's hands. "Aaron. Aaron Towler. You look at me. You do _not_ deserve to be treated like that! No matter _how_ flamboyant you act! You are _you_ and you are amazing and so, _so_ special. You think I haven't had my fair share of things like that? You think Cassie hasn't? You think Trinity hasn't? We have. You _don't have to put up with it_ and you don't have to deal with it on your own. You have _friends_ so you can talk to them. _You are not alone._"

Aaron's eyes filled with tears. "I—I'm not?"

Lily pulled the younger boy against her chest. "Shhhh, honey, shhhh. No, of course not. You have me and Cassie and Trinity and Bryan and Dawn and Marica. We're your friends and we love you and we _will not stand _for these kinds of things to be happening to you. Oh Aaron," she said, as the boy began to cry in earnest, "honey, you should have _told_ us."

"It w-wasn't your i-i-issue."

"Yes it _is_," said Lily fiercely, hugging him tighter. "We are your _friends_, Aaron. And an attack on you for being gay is an attack on all of us who are gay or lesbian or bisexual. You're so brave," she murmured, still holding him as his sobs slowly receded. "Three years of…_this_, and you still have the courage to so completely be yourself. You don't know how much I admire you for that. Don't _ever_ lose that, Aaron."

The boy pulled back from her, wiping his puffy eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. "They didn't hurt you physically?"

"Not much," said Aaron. "Just a bruise or two when they pushed me down. Maybe not even that." He sniffled. "I must look just _awful_ now though."

Lily smiled at him. "I think we can fix that." She pulled out her wand and waved it over Aaron. _"Visio Abulo."_

Aaron gingerly felt his cheeks and eyes. They were free of tearstains and puffiness.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Let's get back to Gryffindor Tower, alright?"

Aaron nodded, not protesting when she put an arm around his shoulders as they started to walk.

"Lily, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Do you really admire me?"

"Immensely," said Lily. "How many third years have even a quarter of your self-confidence?"

"But how can you admire me?" he asked. "I'm fourteen, you're almost eighteen!"

"I'm starting to find that age sometimes has very little to do with it," said Lily.

*****BWST*****

Dawn and Marica, with whom Lily had broken silence to discuss the issue of Aaron and his bullies, were furious. Bryan was appalled. Cassiopeia and Trinity, as far as Lily could tell, were both.

"This isn't going to happen anymore," said Marica firmly, unconsciously crumpling up a piece of parchment on the table in front of her. "I'm a Head Girl. This ends _now_."

Aaron smiled slightly. "I doubt it will ever end, Marica, those guys are class A gits, and you guys can't be with me 24/7."

"We can try," said Dawn fiercely.

"Even though I'm gay that would still be slightly creepy," said Aaron.

Dawn and Lily both rolled their eyes at him.

"We didn't mean _literally_ 24/7," said Lily.

"Exactly," said Aaron. "Look," he said, when the older girls frowned at him, "it's already been better since I've been friends with you, and I'm sure it'll get even better now. And I don't mean I'm going to take it lying down, not now that I know someone's got my back."

"Damn right we do," said Trinity.

Apparently that sparked something in Aaron's memory, because he said, "Did I tell you guys that Lily _swore_ when she found the guys picking on me?"

*****BWST*****

Lily didn't think she'd ever received two letters from James in the same week before. Then again, he'd never gotten to play in a real Puddlemere United game before.

_Lily,_

_WE WON THE GAME! AND I MADE **TWO** GOALS!_

_James_

Okay, so it wasn't much of a letter, but it made Lily smile. She scribbled back,

_James,_

_Congratulations! Just don't let it go to your head._

_Lily_

*****BWST*****

When Lily woke up the first day of April and saw the tree outside her window starting to bloom she realized it had been far too long since she had sent a letter to her cousin.

_Louis,_

_Sorry I haven't written in so long, I've just been so busy here! NEWTs are coming up and the teachers are assigning more homework that I thought was humanly possible, plus we found out than some gits have been being gits to Aaron for being gay all this time and he never told us about it. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi, and I miss you, and you'd better be taking your allergy potion!_

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Lily_

Lily was not expecting to receive the return letter that evening.

_Hey, Lils!_

_I bet you weren't expecting to get a reply so soon, eh? I actually got your letter right as I was about to write you. I must be psychic. What am I doing so close to you, you ask? I got an internship with a small publishing firm based in Scotland! I know, I know, why didn't I tell you I was applying for the internship? Even though I was _obviously_ the best candidate for the position, I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up but my own in case I didn't get it. But I did get it, which not only means that I have a fantastic internship, it means that I can come down to Hogsmeade for your next trip there and grace you with my beautiful presence._

_As for those bastards (gits is not a strong enough word) who were harassing your friend, I hope you gave them a piece of your mind! Bring him along to Hogsmeade with you again, I'd love to spend more time with him, he seems to be a kindred spirit. Besides the whole not liking girls thing._

_Love you lots and see you soon,_

_Louis_

Marica came up and sat down across from Lily. "Did you just get a letter—?"

"—from Louis? Yeah. Did you know about that internship?"

"Not a clue, but I'm so happy for him."

"And for yourself I'll bet," said Cassiopeia slyly.

"Well, yes, that too," said Marica, coloring slightly. "But that's beside the point."

"Or it's a completely different point," said Cassiopeia philosophically.

Marica opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then shook her head. "You'd think I'd be used to that kind of comment by now," she said to Lily.

Lily just smirked and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend. "She likes to keep us on our toes."

"It's good for you," replied Cassiopeia.

"And amusing for you," said Marica.

"Yes, that too."

*****BWST*****

Lily and Cassiopeia were entering the Great Hall, just a bit late, after losing track of time while…studying, when Hugo suddenly stepped in front of them.

"Hugo," said Lily irritably, "let us by. We're hungry and we—"

"I broke up with her."

"Excuse me?"

"I told Paige we were over. She asked me why. I told her she knew why. She told me to say it. I told her because I'd been cheating on her and she'd been allowing it. She told me it didn't matter, that we could fix things between us. I told her there was nothing to fix. She slapped me." Lily noticed for the first time that one of Hugo's cheeks was very red. "I just thought you might like to know." And he turned around and continued into the Great Hall and to the Slytherin table.

Lily let her face fall into her hands.

"And it was shaping up to be such a _nice, drama-free_ week."

**AN: I decided not to put the Hogsmeade weekend into this chapter, which makes it kind of short, but still over the 3000 word mark (barely). The Hogsmeade weekend will be a fairly big thing so I wanted to focus on it at the beginning of the next chapter rather than at the end of this one. After that we have 2 more months until the end of Lily's 7th year!**

**Thanks for reading. Getting reviews is always lovely :)**

**-SQ**


	49. Chapter 49: The Merry Month of May

**Author's Note: This was my last update before I left for college O.o **

**This story is slowly winding down; the end is nearly in sight.**

**There is a scene of a sexual nature in this chapter, just so you know.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: The story is mine but the world (& several of the characters) isn't**

**Chapter Forty-Nine: The Merry Month of May**

"Could there be a lovelier day to go to Hogsmeade?" said Aaron, opening his arms and spinning in dizzy circles, breathing in the warm spring air around them. The older girls laughed. It was a beautiful day; just warm enough to go without their heavy cloaks, the sunshine dousing the village in a buttery-yellow glow.

"You are such a romantic, Aaron," laughed Marica.

Aaron shrugged. "So is Bryan, and he doesn't even have the excuse of being gay to justify it."

Bryan made a face at his friend and, laughing and joking, the group continued down the main street of Hogsmeade and toward the Three Broomsticks.

"Who're we meeting again?" asked Aaron.

"My boyfriend, Louis," said Marica.

"_My cousin_ Louis," said Lily. "The tall blonde who's like an older, straight version of you."

"Oh, him? I like him!"

"Fancy that," said Bryan.

"As long as you don't like him _too_ much," said Marica.

"Please," said Aaron. "Not _that_ way."

Cassiopeia and Trinity giggled.

The seven of them entered the pub and looked around for Louis.

"Dawn, you're tall," said Lily. "See if you can't find—"

"Looking for me, Mademoiselles?"

"Louis!"

Louis greeted Lily with a kiss on each cheek, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Trinity each with kisses on the hands, Marica with one on the mouth, and the two boys with elegant bows.

"The Illustrious Louis Weasley, at your service."

Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, and Dawn all snorted. Trinity raised an eyebrow. Bryan looked like he didn't know quite what to do.

"_Enchanted_ to meet you again," said Aaron.

"Oh, I like this kid," said Louis, rubbing his hands together. "We are going to have great fun together."

"Don't go corrupting young children, Louis," scolded Marica.

Bryan gave her an incredulous look.

"Too late," said Dawn and Aaron at the same time.

Lily just rolled her eyes.

"Let's get some butterbeers," said Trinity, leading the way up to the bar and then to a table once they had ordered their drinks.

"Where's H-H-H-Hatchoo! Hugo? Atchoo!" said Louis.

Bryan jumped. Aaron looked concerned.

"What you don't know about my 'illustrious' cousin," said Lily "is that he suffers from debilitating allergies during the spring. A condition which would keep any _sensible_ person indoors and away from the pollen."

Louis ruffled her hair fondly. "We all doe I'm dot sensible." He blew his nose. "So, where _is_ Hugo?"

Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, and Marica exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"He's, er, busy," said Lily. "How have you been? Tell us more about the internship!"

Louis chatted happily about his internship as they sipped their butterbeers, then they left the Three Broomsticks for the sunshine outside, Louis now quizzing them about the goings on at Hogwarts in between sneezes and blowing his nose.

"Where's Dawn?" said Cassiopeia suddenly, looking around.

The others stopped and looked around as well.

"She was right here a minute ago," said Lily, frowning, "she made that comment about Louis being the only one stupid enough to piss Marica off and the only one who could actually get away with it."

"You did't see where she wedt, Cassie?" Louis asked, following up the question with a harsh sneeze.

Cassiopeia shook her head, absentmindedly patting him on the shoulder. "She must have slipped off while I was talking to Bryan."

They looked around at each other and shrugged. It wasn't unheard of for Dawn to randomly disappear, and they assumed she would just as randomly pop up some time later.

They continued on their stroll, Marica fussing over Louis and Louis trying, and failing, to maintain his dignity.

"Lily, please tell her that I ab _fide_," he said appealingly. "It's odly whed I start to—Atchoo! Atchoo!—wh-wh-wh—_Atchoo! _wheeze that you deed to start worrying."

"I could tell her," said Lily, "but it would do about as much good as me telling you that you really ought not to be outside during pollen season."

Louis gave a long-suffering sigh as both his cousin and his girlfriend hugged him around the waist.

Aaron giggled.

"You wod't fide it so fuddy whed it's _you_," said Louis.

"Not gonna happen," said Aaron.

"You say that _dow_…"

"No, really, not gonna happen," said Aaron, smirking.

"Oh," said Louis wiping his red, watery eyes and clearing his scratchy throat, "right." He scowled at the younger boy. Aaron just smirked and blew him a kiss.

*****BWST*****

Dawn did not reappear for the entire rest of the day, and eventually the rest of the Hogwarts group and Louis parted company and the girls and Bryan and Aaron headed back up toward the castle and dinner, which was sounding like a very inviting prospect at that point.

After dropping off their things in the Gryffindor common room, the five Gryffindors hurried quickly through the corridors to the Great Hall. In a little-used wing of the fourth floor, which Lily and Cassiopeia happened to know contained a convenient shortcut to the Great Hall, they were surprised to hear the sounds of a heated argument coming from somewhere nearby.

"IF YOU THINK THAT DUMPING HER IS GOING TO GET YOU INTO MY PANTS YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!"

"I DIDN'T DUMP HER TO GET INTO YOUR PANTS!"

"OH, JUST TO GET INTO EVERY _OTHER_ GIRL AT HOGWART'S PANTS THEN?"

"NO! I DUMPED HER BECAUSE NEITHER OF US LOVED THE OTHER; NEITHER OF US EVEN _LIKED_ THE OTHER!"

"OH, SO IT HAD NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH ME?"

"OF COURSE IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOU! I BLOODY CHEATED ON HER WITH YOU, DIDN'T I? !"

"I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE YOU CHEATED ON HER WITH!"

"NO, BUT YOU WERE THE FIRST!"

"SO? WE WERE DRUNK!"

"THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE!"

"REALLY? BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT IT WAS THE LAST TIME I CHECKED!"

"I WAS WRONG, OKAY?"

"ALERT THE _DAILY PROPHET_, THE KING OF SLYTHERIN ADMITS HE'S WRONG!"

"_YES!_ YES, I WAS WRONG, ARE YOU SATISFIED? !"Hugo's voice dropped so that they could barely hear it over the ringing left in their ears. "I was wrong to date her, I was wrong to cheat on her, I was wrong to do it with _you_."

"What about the other girls?" demanded Dawn.

"You're different."

"How so?"

There was a pause.

"Why didn't you have sex with me on Halloween?" asked Dawn. "I know you had sex with some of the other girls."

"It wouldn't have been right."

Dawn let out a snort of laughter. "And shagging all those other girls was 'right'?"

"Not to Paige, I don't give a damn about Paige. To you."

"And why would you care if it was right to me?"

There was a soft thump, as though Hugo had let himself fall against the wall. "Isn't it bloody obvious?" There was a silence, as though Hugo was waiting for Dawn to say something. When she didn't oblige he continued, "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since Halloween."

"You mean you haven't stopped want to do me since Halloween."

"Well, that too—_no_." Hugo groaned. "Must you always make things so bloody frustrating?"

"If you'd just come out and say what you mean I wouldn't have to," retorted Dawn.

"I think I'm dangerously close to being in love with you!" shouted Hugo. "There, are you happy?"

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place," said Dawn, and the others looked at each other and then tiptoed away, fairly confident that this wasn't the kind of scene the two Quidditch captains would want them to walk in on.

*****BWST*****

Lily didn't pay much attention to Quidditch, but even she couldn't fail to be aware that the Hogwarts Quidditch final would be played in two days' time. First of all the whole school was abuzz about it, second of all her girlfriend was the Seeker on one of the competing teams, and third one of her best friends and her cousin, who also happened to be dating, were the respective teams' captains.

"You're going _down_ Hartly!"

"_Ha!_ In your _dreams_, Weasley!"

"We are going to beat you so hard into the ground you won't find your way out until next Christmas!"

"You'll find that difficult to do after we've kicked your butts all the way to Timbuktu!"

The bell rang signaling the end of break.

"Give me a kiss?"

Hugo obliged before hurrying off toward his next class.

Lily and Marica shook their heads at each other.

"Weirdest couple ever," said Lily.

"Says the Potter dating a Malfoy."

"Touché."

*****BWST*****

Lily sat in the Quidditch stands between Marica and Bryan, Aaron seated on Bryan's other side. The two teams had just entered the field and were now being told to shake hands by the referee. Lily let her eyes wander to her girlfriend, looking better than anyone had any right to look in a set of Quidditch robes.

There was a sudden volley of exclamations around her and Lily looked at Bryan beside her; his eyes had gone wide as saucers.

"Why's everyone—?"

"Look," said Marica, dragging Lily around to look down at the pitch again. Below them Lily could just make out Dawn and Hugo, who appeared to be locking a lot more than fingers.

"Alright, alright, that is enough!" said the referee, blowing her whistle. "This is a Quidditch match! Everyone mount your brooms please!"

Giggling, Lily, Marica, Bryan, and Aaron watched the two teams take to the air. The Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch were released, and the game began.

Lily soon gave up trying to actually follow the game and merely followed Cassiopeia, marveling at the lithe, graceful way she darted over the heads of the other players, her long pale braid whipping after her in the wind. Vaguely, Lily registered that Slytherin was pulling steadily ahead; Hugo obviously hadn't been joking when he said he had put together a formidable team. Still, Dawn's team was good too and the game was still young; the Golden Snitch yet to be sighted.

The day was warm, the breeze cool, the sport, in Lily's opinion if not in many others, quite boring, and Lily was exhausted from the homework her teachers had been piling on her in preparation for their NEWTs next month; in spite of her best intentions she began to drift off, the cheers and groans of the rest of the school fading to a dull roar in the back of her consciousness. Some time later she was jerked out of her doze by Bryan's sudden grip on her arm.

"Wha—what is it?" she said groggily, blinking in the sunshine.

"Cassie!" he said, pointing.

Lily looked, and her heart leapt into her mouth. Cassiopeia was rocketing at breakneck speed toward the ground, braided hair whipping behind her like some sort of gleaming snake. Her knees were all that held her onto her hurtling broom as she reached both arms over her head toward something which glittered near the muddy grass of the pitch. Bryan, however, had seen what Cassiopeia had not; the Slytherin Seeker, a wiry-muscled boy named Ignatius Higgs, was coming at her from the side, obviously intent on knocking her off-course, and perhaps off her broom.

Even though Lily knew that the other girl could not possibly hear her from so far away and with so much noise around them, she screamed a warning, willing her girlfriend to look up and see the impending danger. She did nothing of the kind; rather, she tucked and rolled neatly off her broom and into the mud of the pitch half a second before Higgs would have slammed into her. Higgs, deprived of his intended target, careened into the ground and lay there, dazed, while Cassiopeia got daintily to her feet, brushed herself off, and held the fluttering Golden Snitch above her head. Gryffindor had won the match 210 points to 100.

*****BWST*****

"How did you _do_ that?" asked Bryan, wide-eyed, when the Gryffindors (minus Dawn, who was off somewhere consoling the loser in a way that did not bear Lily's imaginings) were back in their common room. "Did you know he was coming?"

"Of course I knew he was coming," said Cassiopiea. "He made more noise than Peeves around first years."

"Then why didn't you get out of the way sooner?" Lily demanded.

"I hadn't caught the Snitch yet," was Cassiopeia's composed answer. "And I still had time to do so."

Marica shook her head. "You cut if awfully close."

"Higgs is going to have to do a lot better than that if he wants to beat me," said the fifth year smugly.

"Hey, Cassie," said Aaron, a considering look on his face, "d'you think you could give me and Bry a few flying lessons? Once you're done with you OWLs of course."

"Sure," said Cassiopeia. "And, for the record, it would be 'Bry and me'. Thinking of going out for the Quidditch team next year?"

"Whatever," said Aaron. "And yep. Think we have a chance?"

"Well I won't know until I see you fly," said Cassiopeia, "but I don't see why not if you're any good."

"Well of _course_ I'm good," said Aaron, giving her a look Lily knew he must have learned from Louis. "I just have to make sure I'm the _best_."

*****BWST*****

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lily, happy birthday to you!"

Lily groaned and pulled her pillow over her head.

"Guys, I'm sleeping!"

"Obviously not, or you wouldn't be talking to us," said Dawn cheerfully, pulling the covers unceremoniously off of her redheaded friend. "Rise and shine and greet the special day!"

"Since when are you so perky in the morning?" asked Lily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Since Cassie and Aaron pumped her full of several cups of highly caffeinated tea," said Marica, laughing. "Come on, Bry and Aaron are waiting down in the common room."

"Aaron tried to come up here with us," said Cassiopeia, smiling. "He was very annoyed that his being gay didn't except him from the 'no boys in the girls' dormitories' rule."

Lily laughed. "I don't think the staircase can tell one's sexual orientation. Let me just get dressed."

She quickly changed out of her pajamas and followed the other girls down the stairs.

"Happy birthday, Lily!" shouted Aaron excitedly as soon as she entered the common room.

Lily grinned. "Alright, what do you guys have planned?"

Aaron and Bryan gave her their most innocent looks; Bryan did it a lot better than Aaron.

"Who, us?" said Bryan.

"I grew up with Albus, James, Hugo, Louis, _and_ Fred; I can tell when people have things planned."

"Just follow us," said Aaron.

"Follow you where, exactly?" asked Lily as she was herded toward the portrait hole.

"You'll see," said Marica, grinning.

"We wanted to do it outside," said Aaron, "but it's raining so we had to move it indoors."

"I suppose my birthday can't fall on a sunny day _every_ year," said Lily.

The group continued down through the castle toward the Great Hall, but when they bypassed it and turned instead to a door to the side Lily got a pretty good idea of where they were headed.

"Alright," she said when they had arrived in front of a large painting of a bowl of fruit, "who told them how to get into the kitchens?"

All eyes turned to Cassiopeia.

She shrugged. "They asked."

Dawn stepped forward and tickled the pear in the painting with her index finger; it transformed itself into a doorknob and the group of Gryffindors was immediately enveloped in a cloud of delicious smelling steam.

"Good morning, masters and mistresses!" squeaked a house elf, running up to them and bowing low. "Everything is as you ordered it. We have not touched Master Aaron's decorations."

"Requested," said Marica. "And thank you."

Lily looked around. The kitchens had been decorated with artfully placed banners in bright, sunny colors which sparkled with variations of "Happy Birthday, Lily!" There was an immaculately set table which bore all sorts of breakfast items.

"I asked Cassie, Marica, and Dawn which were your favorites," said Aaron.

Just as Lily and the others were taking their seats at the table Trinity arrived, followed soon after by Hugo.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, running a hand over his artfully mussed hair. "Head Boy business."

"Sure," said Dawn with a snort. "Just sit down, you're holding up your cousin's birthday party."

It was a wonderful party, worthy of Louis Weasley, except that he would have insisted on inviting half the school along as well. Lily preferred it this way, with just her closest friends. After they had eaten as much as they possibly could, even Dawn and Hugo, and the house elves had whisked away the dishes, the guests melted away in ones and two until it was only Lily and Cassiopeia who remained.

"They did that on purpose, didn't they?" said Lily, watching the door swing shut after Dawn and Hugo.

"You're becoming more observant," said Cassiopeia. "Glad to see I'm a good influence on you."

Lily chuckled. "Fancy a walk around the grounds?"

Cassiopeia lifted an elegant eyebrow. "It's pouring down rain."

"That never stopped you before."

*****BWST*****

Hand in hand the two girls strolled across the deserted grounds, periodically stealing dripping kisses which got progressively more passionate as the time wore on. At the edge of the Forbidden Forest they stopped, bodies now thoroughly awake and hungry for more. Lily pushed Cassiopeia gently up against the trunk of a tree, locking her mouth to the blonde's while her hands sought refuge underneath the fabric of her shirt and bra. Cassiopeia let out an almost keening whine as Lily moved her mouth down the younger girl's neck, stripping off her outer layers of clothes as she did so. Cassiopeia did the same for her, and soon they were both standing there, soaking wet, in their t-shirts. Cassiopeia took control then, steering them around to the other side of the tree where they were completely out of sight of any onlookers. Off came trousers, skirt, and shirts, rain and hands both caressing smooth expanses of skin. Lily sank to her knees, bringing Cassiopeia with her; the younger girl's back scraped roughly against the bark of the tree, but she didn't care, hardly even noticed. Somehow one of Lily's breasts had escaped from her bra. Cassiopeia took it in her mouth now, lapping and suckling gently. Lily gave a guttural moan, arching into the contact, and buried her face in Cassiopeia's flaxen hair. Her fingers reached down and found her girlfriend's downy lower locks, stroking them as Cassiopeia dragged her mouth back up to Lily's lips, biting down on the lower one as she felt herself pushed more firmly back against the tree. Her own hand mirrored Lily's briefly before dragging down the curves of her inner thighs.

Lily opened her eyes, which she didn't remember closing, and saw Cassiopeia's silvery blue orbs wide in front of her.

"Not yet," she said.

"Not yet," Cassiopeia agreed, her voice barely a whisper. "Not now. Not here."

"Not yet," said Lily, pressing her palms hard into the other girl's cheeks, while simultaneously pinning her against the tree behind her, feeling the bark sharp against the backs of her own hands through the thin material of Cassiopeia's pants. "But soon."

Cassiopeia nodded her agreement, raking her fingernails up Lily's exposed sides.

Both sets of hands came back to rest on shoulders and hips and the two girls slowly let the tension ease out of their bodies, kisses becoming sweet and gentle once more.

"We're wet," Lily said finally, sitting up and shaking a cascade of water from her fiery hair.

"Yes," said Cassiopeia, brushing leaves and dirt from between her legs, "we are."

The smaller girl stood, still wearing only her underclothes, and leaned against the tree, a faraway look in her eyes, as though she were considering something.

"Cassie? What is it?"

"Mmm?" said Cassiopeia. "Oh…nothing…yet. We should get dressed and go back up to the castle. I'm thinking a nice long bath sounds like a good idea after this."

"A very good idea," agreed Lily, pulling her wet shirt over her head.

The two finished dressing and then walked back to the castle and up to Gryffindor Tower hand in hand, ignoring the strange looks they received from the other students they passed in the halls.

**AN: *Grin* Dawn, the 1st to have a boyfriend, the first to have sex, the last to get with the person I've actually chosen for her.**

**Please do tell me what you think. I know you must be thinking _something_.**

**-SQ**


	50. Chapter 50: Almost Final Goodbyes

**Authors Note: There is a sexual scene in this chapter. You will know when it is coming if you have any sense of foresight at all. It is still T, though I do admit I have slightly liberal definitions of the ratings . Enjoy reading :)**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: Just in case you missed it the last forty-nine times, no, I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter Fifty: Almost Final Goodbyes**

As the end of May approached Lily felt like she had finally struck a balance between Cassie, her friends, and her studies. Of course this balance would go to hell in a few weeks' time when NEWTs descended upon them, and then not matter in the least after she, Dawn, Marica, Hugo, and Trinity had graduated, but for now it was nice. The weather, too, was nice, which led to as much time as possible being spent outside by the lake. It wasn't quite warm enough for swimming yet, but it was perfect weather for relaxing on the green lawns in front of the castle.

"Now that the Quidditch season is over I don't know what to do with myself," said Dawn, who was lying on the grass on her stomach, receiving a backrub from Hugo, who was seated beside her.

"You could always try studying," said Marica, at the same time that Lily said, "You seem to be managing to find things to occupy yourself with."

Dawn blew her bangs out of her eyes. They fell right back down to where they were before. "Having a boyfriend with strong Quidditch-player hands does have its advantages."

"Maybe I should date a Quidditch player," mused Aaron. "A famous one, so he could buy me all the designer clothes I wanted…"

"And take them all back when he got tired of your obsession with Muggle musicals," said Bryan.

Dawn and Aaron looked at each other.

"_Take back your mink, take back your pearls, what made you think that I was one of those girls?"_ They sang in unison.

The rest of the group rolled their eyes.

"It's a good thing Aaron's not straight," said Trinity, "or you'd have a real run for your money there, Hugo."

"I could win out over Towler any day," said Hugo confidently.

"You think so?" said Trinity.

"Definitely."

"You willing to put that to the test?" said Marica.

"Of course."

"Alright," said Lily, smirking, "go find a good looking guy to flirt with."

"Erm, on second thought, let's assume it's a tie," said Hugo hastily, as everyone else laughed.

*****BWST*****

Perhaps Aaron wasn't going to be hooking any famous Quidditch players any time soon, but it appeared that someone else Lily knew quite well was about to tie the knot with one.

"Merlin's beard!" said Lily as soon as she had read the letter Dominique's owl had deposited beside her breakfast a few mornings later.

"What is it?" said five curious voices.

"Domi's marrying Gwendon Jones!"

"Gwendon Jones?" said Dawn incredulously. "_The_ Gwendon Jones? Nephew of Gwenog Jones, formerly of the Holyhead Harpies, and most promising up-and-coming Quidditch player of the year?"

"Erm, I guess so?" said Lily. "He's a friend of James's. He was on the Puddlemere United Reserve Team, but this season was promoted to the—"

"We _know_," said Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Aaron, and Bryan impatiently.

"Your cousin is marrying him?" said Aaron incredulously.

"That's what her letter says," said Lily, passing it to him.

"I didn't even know they were dating," said Cassiopeia.

"Neither did I," said Lily. "They met at the Puddlemere United Reserve Team New Year's party and seemed to hit it off, but I didn't know they were actually dating."

"They've only known each other since January?" said Marica. "Isn't it a bit soon for them to be getting married?"

"Well I certainly think so," said Lily. "But obviously Domi and Gwendon don't. She says the wedding's going to be …" she scanned the letter again, "on September fifth."

"Why are they having after term starts?" said Bryan.

"Because after this year no one in our family will be at Hogwarts anymore," said Lily.

"Oh," said Bryan. "I suppose that's true. It's weird to think that all of you guys won't be here next year."

"Depressing topic alert! Depressing topic alert!" said Dawn, waving her hands manically around her head. "Let's talk about this wedding. What else does she say in the letter?"

"No much," said Lily, "just that they're getting married on September fifth and the official invitation will go out soon."

"Do they need a wedding planner?" said Aaron. "Because I'd be more than happy to volunteer for the position, for a very minimal fee…"

"I don't know!" said Lily, laughing. "I'll ask Domi more about it when I write her back. "Right now we should get to class before we're all marked late."

*****BWST*****

June came rolling in, and with it the stress of upcoming exams, especially for those who were taking their OWLs and NEWTs this year. The weather turned quite suddenly gorgeous, but Lily, Cassiopeia, Dawn, Marica, Hugo, and Trinity were too busy studying to enjoy it.

"Sunshine should be illegal until after exams are over," said Hugo, staring morosely at the golden light filtering through the library window.

"Our exams or regular year exams?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Ours, naturally," said Hugo.

"What are you planning on doing once you graduate, Lily?" asked Trinity, flipping through her Astronomy book and running her finger down her chosen page.

"I'm not really sure, honestly," said Lily. "It would be great if I could find something that had to do with potions and magical creatures. Oh, and I'll probably finally learn to Apparate. What about you?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure either," said Trinity, "but being a curse breaker for Gringotts sounds really cool."

"Hugo and I know what we're going to do," said Dawn. "We're going to play Quidditch. We're just waiting to hear back from the different reserve teams."

"What if you end up on opposing teams?" asked Marica.

Dawn and Hugo both shrugged.

"What would be new about that?" said Hugo.

"And you, Marica?" said Dawn. "What's your plan for after graduation?"

"I think I'd like to go into experimental Charms and theoretical Artihmancy. And I may come back to teach at Hogwarts at some point."

"Wow," said Trinity, whistling. "Way to make my brain hurt. I'm planning on going into the Ministry."

"Talk about your brain hurting," said Hugo.

"Isn't most of your family in the Ministry?" said Trinity.

"Which is exactly why we're not going into it," said Lily and Hugo at the same time.

"Please can we go back to studying before those third years come along and disrupt us yet again?" Marica pleaded.

"I like Bry and Aaron," said Cassiopeia mildly.

"Oh, I love them," said Marica. "But you do have to admit that they make studying rather difficult."

*****BWST*****

In spite of the presence of the two third years, the five seventh years and one fifth year all got in a good amount of studying over the next couple of weeks. Granted, Marica's definition of a "good amount" of studying was quite different from, say, Dawn and Hugo's definition, but when exams rolled around the prevailing mood was the simple wish to get them over and done with.

"I can't believe these are the last exams we will ever take at Hogwarts," said Lily, shaking her head as the six Gryffindors headed down to breakfast on the first day of OWLs and NEWTs.

"Are you sorry?" asked Bryan.

"Merlin no!" said Lily.

"You won't be sad to leave us?" said Aaron, making a pouty face.

"Of course we'll be sad to leave you," said Dawn, ruffling his hair and making the boy squeal in dismay and whip out his compact mirror to fix it. "We just won't be sad to leave our exams and schoolwork!"

"Well, technically some of us will still have to pass exams to enter our chosen field," said Marica.

"Not us," said Hugo.

"What about try-outs?" asked Trinity.

"Not the same," said Dawn.

After breakfast the seventh years and fifth year headed toward their respective exams while the two third years started in the direction of their class.

"Are you nervous?" Trinity asked the others.

"A little," admitted Lily, "but there's nothing more I can do but take the exams."

"Naw," said Hugo.

"Well _I_ am," said Marica, twisting her hands in front of her. "And you should be too! Our futures rest on the fate of these exams!"

"You'll do splendidly like you always do, Marica," said Dawn with a roll of her eyes.

"And what do Dawn and I need with NEWTs?" asked Hugo. "We're going to play professional Quidditch."

"It's always a good idea to have a back-up plan," said Marica.

She was spared Dawn and Hugo's retorts by their arrival at the first exam room: Tranfiguration.

"Good luck!" said Lily to her friends as they found seats and sat down. A hush fell over the room as the examiner stepped to the front.

"You are about to take your written Transfiguration NEWT," said the examiner, a very fat woman with a husky voice that squeaked every few words. "There will be no talking, no looking at other students' papers, and no employment of cheating devices of any kind. If you attempt to use such methods you _will_ be caught. You may begin."

*****BWST*****

NEWTs were a lot like OWLs, only more difficult. Lily knew she had done quite well on some, and not as well as she would have liked on others, but there was nothing she could do about it now but wait for her results. When she and Cassiopeia had both finished their final exam (Charms practical for Lily, History of Magic for Cassiopeia) the two of them headed outside to enjoy the bright sunshine sweeping over the grounds. Dawn, Marica, and Trinity still had their Herbology practical, along with many of the other seventh years, Hugo had disappeared with a group of Slytherins, and the rest of the school was still in classes, so Lily and Cassiopeia had the grounds largely to themselves.

"It's so strange to think of being at Hogwarts without you," said Cassiopeia softly, leaning her pale blonde head against Lily's shoulder.

Lily swung their hands, which were laced together. "I'll come and visit you as much as I possibly can, I promise. And I'll write you every week."

"Not every day?" said Cassiopeia teasingly.

"My life isn't _that_ interesting," said Lily.

"Everything about you is interesting," said Cassiopeia.

Lily stopped and brought her girlfriend around to face her, cupping her slender face between her hands. "Well, if I'm interesting then you must be fascinating."

The two shared a sweet, lingering kiss and then continued their tour of the grounds, not returning to the castle until the sun was beginning to set and it was time to go in for dinner.

*****BWST*****

The final weekend of term at Hogwarts was also the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. The combination of the end of exams and the promise of gorgeous weather had nearly the entire student population, and a good portion of the staff as well, turning out for the trip.

Unfortunately, the promised good weather only lasted until mid-afternoon, when the skies suddenly opened up in a torrential downpour that had everyone unlucky enough to be outside drenched within seconds.

"Where did this _come_ from?" shouted Marica, arms up over her head as she ran toward the nearest shelter—Zonko's joke shop.

"Hell if I know!" said Trinity, her arms in a similar position.

"Let's find somewhere less crowded," said Lily as she saw the number of people already crammed into the store.

"But it's pouring down rain!" protested Dawn. "We're already soaked!"

"So a little more water won't hurt us any," said Hugo. "I'm with Lily."

This was the majority opinion, so the group veered away from the main street and toward the less populated area of town.

"Where are we going?" asked Louis, uselessly pushing his dripping blonde hair out of his eyes.

"That is a very good question," said Aaron.

Cassiopeia squinted through the downpour. "The Shrieking Shack, it appears."

"Isn't it haunted?" asked Bryan, sounding scared.

"No," said Lily. "That's just a legend."

"Explain once we're inside, Lily," said Dawn, dragging on her friend's arm.

Hugo led them to a place where the boards on the side of the old house had rotted away. Soon all nine of them were inside the dark, musty interior of the Shrieking Shack.

Lily looked around. Everyone was wringing out their sodden clothes and hair.

Trinity rubbed her arms. "It's cold in here."

"And kind of spooky," said Aaron.

"Are you sure it's not haunted?" said Bryan, looking around with wide eyes.

"There are a lot more ghosts in Hogwarts than have ever been here," Lily assured him.

"There is a rather impressive history to this place though," said Hugo, taking a seat on an old barrel.

"Really?" said Trinity, also taking a seat. "I've only heard parts of it."

"I haven't heard any of it," said Bryan.

"Lily, Hugo, and Louis know the most about it," said Marica.

"Story time!" said Aaron, settling himself cross-legged on the floor and looking expectantly at the three in question.

Lily shrugged and rubbed her hands over the fire Cassiopeia had conjured on the floor in front of them. "Well, I don't really know how it got here in the first place, but the rumor of it being haunted started when my grandparents were at Hogwarts. One of my grandfather's best friends, Remus Lupin, who was also my eldest brother's biological father, used it as a safe place to transform into a werewolf."

"A werewolf? !" gasped Bryan.

Lily, Hugo, and Louis nodded.

"Wicked!" said Aaron.

"That's where the rumor if it being haunted came from," said Hugo. "Remus Lupin would come down here once a month and turn into a werewolf. The screams and crashes and other noises the villagers heard were made by him, not ghosts."

"The Whomping Willow was planted over the entrance on the Hogwarts grounds to keep anyone from entering accidentally," said Louis.

"After he left the school the rumor persisted," said Lily, "even though no more 'ghosts' were heard inside the shack. As far as I know no one else used it until Sirius Black, my dad's godfather, brought my dad and Hugo's parents down here and they discovered that he wasn't a traitor and that Peter Pettigrew was."

"It was also the place where Voldemort kept his snake and killed Severus Snape during the Battle of Hogwarts," said Louis.

By now the two third years' eyes were as big and round as saucers.

"Wow…" breathed Bryan.

"Brilliant!" said Aaron.

"I think it's stopped raining," said Cassiopeia.

It had, and so the eight Hogwarts students bade Louis goodbye (not without kissing on Marica's part, though the others reminded her that she would soon be free once again to see him, and on a more regular basis) and trudged up toward the castle to change out of their wet clothes.

*****BWST*****

"It's so weird to think that after we get on that train tomorrow we're never coming back."

Lily, Dawn, Marica, and Paloma were in the seventh year girls' dormitory, packing their things into their trunks. Brandi and Tamzen had, unsurprisingly, left as soon as Lily, Dawn, and Marica had entered, saying that they had 'things to do' and would finish packing later.

The other three looked at Dawn, the one who had spoken.

"It doesn't seem real, does it?" said Paloma, waving her wand at the pictures attached to the wall above her bed. They floated down into a neat pile inside her trunk. "I _know_ that this was my last year at Hogwarts, but I don't _believe_ it."

"I know exactly what you mean," said Marica, pointing her wand and sending a stack of books flying into her own trunk. "It's sad to be leaving, but it's exciting too."

"I just…don't feel like an adult," said Lily. "I don't feel like I should be leaving school yet and choosing a career and trying to find a job. I don't even know how to do any of that."

"Louis managed it," said Dawn, "so it can't be _that_ difficult."

Lily laughed. Marica looked annoyed, though whether it was because Dawn had just insulted her boyfriend or because she hadn't thought of it first was anyone's guess.

There was a soft knock on the door and a voice that was by now familiar to everyone in the seventh year Gryffindor girls' dormitory said, "Lily? May I come in?"

"Of course," said four voices at once, and Cassiopeia stepped into the room, cocking an elegant brow at the other three inhabitants.

"I wasn't aware that you had all changed your names to Lily."

They all laughed, but Lily quickly stopped due to the lump in her throat. Of all the things that were hard about leaving Hogwarts, this was going to be the hardest of all: leaving her girlfriend. Of course they'd see each other on school holidays, and hopefully on some Hogsmeade weekends, but it wouldn't be the same as seeing each other every day, knowing the other was just a few doors or a few floors away at all times.

"Can you spare a moment to walk with me, Lily?" asked Cassiopeia.

"Sure," said Lily. She laid the set of robes she had been holding down on her bed (hers for only one night more, after seven whole years of sleeping there).

Lily followed Cassiopeia out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and out through the portrait hole into the corridor before another word was spoken.

"I'm going to miss you," said Cassiopeia softly.

Lily uttered a little cry and gathered her girlfriend up into her arms. "I'm going to miss you too."

"I know the real goodbyes aren't until tomorrow," said Cassiopeia. "But the Hogwarts Express doesn't leave much opportunity for privacy and intimacy."

"No," said Lily, smiling into the other girl's silky-soft hair, "it really doesn't. So what did you have in mind?"

"Well," said Cassiopeia, "a last, moonlit stroll around the grounds would certainly be romantic, but getting caught out of bed after hours certainly wouldn't, and it is almost curfew for me."

"Right," said Lily, "yours is an hour earlier than mine, isn't it? I'd forgotten… I'm sure the room of requirement could make it _seem_ as though we were outside."

"Great minds think alike," said Cassiopeia, drawing slightly away with a soft, sparkly-eyed smile.

The two girls walked hand-in-hand to the seventh floor.

"What should we ask it for?" said Cassiopeia, looking at the blank stretch of wall that concealed the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

"A romantic outdoor location perfect for our last night together at Hogwarts?" suggested Lily.

"Sounds good to me."

They walked past the stretch of wall once, twice, three times. After the third pass a large wooden door appeared where there had been only nondescript gray stone a second earlier.

"After you," said Lily.

Cassiopeia opened the door and stepped through, closely followed by Lily. They were met by a warm breeze and the smell of earth and trees. It looked like someone had taken a chunk of the Hogwarts grounds and transplanted it into the Room of Requirement. The two girls wandered around for a while before settling themselves down on a mossy patch near the middle of the room.

"Are you nervous about leaving?" asked Cassiopeia, her head in Lily's lap as the older girl ran potion-weathered fingers through her hair.

"Terrified," admitted Lily. "I know change is necessary, but I've never been someone who goes looking and wishing for it. For the most part I'm content with things just the way they are."

"Soon there'll be a new "just the way they are" for you to be content with," said Cassiopeia.

"I hope so," said Lily. "How about you? Are you nervous about me leaving?"

Cassiopeia nodded and turned her head to press her cheek into the palm of Lily's hand. "I'm afraid it'll be like first year all over again. My girlfriend and all my best friends are leaving."

"Except for Bryan and Aaron," said Lily.

"True." Cassiopeia sighed. "Has Scorpius ever told you about when he left for school the first time?"

"Scorpius and I may no longer hate each other, Cassie, but we're hardly on a share-stories-about-our-childhoods basis."

"After he left for his first year at Hogwarts I didn't talk for four days. I cried myself to sleep every night. The school finally let him come home for the weekend. He made me a calendar showing exactly when he'd be home again. We wrote letters back and forth nearly every day for that first year. You have to understand, I'd never been separated from my brother before that."

Lily slid down to the mossy floor beside Cassiopeia and wrapped the smaller girl into her arms. "I love you."

Cassiopeia's silver/blue eyes, which had drifted closed as Lily trailed teasing kisses down the side of her neck, opened, reflecting the stars on the ceiling above. "You do?"

"Of course I do."

"I love you too."

Lily pushed her hands up under the sides of Cassiopeia's shirt, lifting herself slightly off the ground and then lowering back down so that she was chest-to-chest with her girlfriend. "Is it bad that I want to see you naked right now?" she asked huskily.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Cassiopeia whispered, "I'd rather like to see you naked too."

With that fact established, they set to work on making their wishes a reality, fingers slipping under shirts, trousers, skirt, bras, and pants to peel off clothing and expose soft, supple skin.

Lily bit her lip. She had known Cassiopeia was gorgeous, but Merlin, she was _gorgeous_; from the gleaming hair on the top of her head to the soft down between her legs through the creamy curves of her inner thighs and the graceful points of her toes, she was gorgeous. Lily reached over pulled her girlfriend's hair out from under her shoulders, arranging it in a halo around her head.

"Touch me," whispered Cassiopeia. "Please…touch me…"

Lily ran the palms of her hands over Cassiopeia's flat stomach, the curves of her inner thighs, the rounds of her breasts. Cassiopeia shivered underneath her touch, raising herself onto her elbows to press her lips to the place where Lily's neck met her shoulder.

Lily rocked backward, pulling them both into a sitting position; Cassiopeia put her hands on Lily's shoulders to steady herself. Lily lifted the smaller girl by her hips and settled her onto her lap. Their lips met again, sucking, lapping, biting, their chests were tender and firm against each other. Then Cassiopeia let her tongue drift down from her girlfriend's lips to the hollow of her throat, across her breastbone, and into the hollows of her armpits, making her giggle.

"May I…do this?" she asked, her voice breathless and uncertain.

"Yes," moaned Lily, "yes, don't stop…it feels good…"

"Do you remember the party…my…fantasy...?"

"Of course I do, just keep _going_."

Cassiopeia obliged, exploring every last crevice of Lily's body with her tongue, saving the best and most intimate for last.

"If I go there…you know what it means…" said Cassiopeia, hovering inches above Lily.

"I know…" said Lily. "I'm ready if you are."

"Me too," said Cassiopeia.

After Cassiopeia was done with her ministrations, the two girls lay on the soft floor, spent, for an immeasurable amount of time. Eventually Lily rolled over and slowly and leisurely ran her own tongue along the entire length of Cassiopeia's body. It was different this time; gentler, less fiery, but no less pleasurable.

Another uncounted amount of time passed and then Lily asked, "What time is it?"

"Late," answered Cassiopeia. "After two."

"How do you know that?"

Cassiopeia shrugged. "I just do."

"Do you just want to sleep here?"

"Better than getting caught in the corridors. Especially looking like…"

"We just got it on?" suggested Lily.

"Exactly."

"I need to be up in time to finish packing."

"What time?"

"Eight?"

"Alright."

"I don't even have to ask if you can do that without an alarm clock, do I?"

"No."

Lily smiled and rolled over so that she and Cassiopeia were snuggled into each other's arms. "Good night, Cassie."

"Good night, Lily."

"Sweet dreams."

"With you here? Always."

**AN: THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! I repeat, there is only ONE more chapter after this one. I know, it's insane to think that this fic is finally almost over, when it seemed like it would never end. But it is ending, very shortly. So enjoy it while it lasts and review it while you can. Thank you for following me, Lily, Cassie, and the rest on this journey which is now nearly completed.**

**-SQ**


	51. Chapter 51: A Good Five Years

**Author's Note: Merlin _damn_ this one was hard to write! It was just impossible to focus on it; _everything_ was distracting me. But I got it done, and here it is, for better or for worse: the LAST chapter.**

**-SQ**

**Disclaimer: The _last_ time I will have to say this for this fic: I do not own Harry Potter!**

**Chapter Fifty-One: A Good Five Years**

Dawn, Brandi, and Tamzen were still asleep when Lily and Cassiopeia went back to the dormitories the next morning, but Marica was up and doing some last minute packing, and Paloma was sitting cross-legged on her bed reading a book.

Marica looked up as the door creaked open and lifted her eyebrows slowly. "Well, well, well, where have _you_ two been?"

A tinge of color rose simultaneously on Lily's and Cassiopeia's cheeks.

Marica looked over at Paloma. "Looks like we're the only virgins left in the room, Paloma."

"So it would appear," said the Spanish girl.

Lily and Cassiopeia blushed harder. Marica and Paloma laughed.

"How are you two going to live without each other?" said Marica. "You've been practically attached at the hip since our fourth year."

"I have no idea," said Lily, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "I don't even want to think about it."

"You kind of have to think about it," Marica pointed out. "We go home today."

"I know," said Lily sadly.

"Don't be sad," said Cassiopeia, standing on tiptoe so she could touch her lips to Lily's. "You're with me now, aren't you? Enjoy the moment."

Lily smiled and kissed her back. "Believe me, I'm enjoying it."

Lily turned her attention to her half-packed trunk, which soon became mostly packed and then all the way packed with Cassiopeia's and Marica's help. During that time Brandi and Tamzen woke up and left the room almost immediately. Lily, by now used to this treatment from them, paid them no mind. She wouldn't have to see them again after today anyway.

By the time Dawn sat up and looked around sleepily, Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, and Paloma were doing a last sweep of the room for anything the three graduates might have left behind.

"When did you get here, Cassie?" she asked, pushing the covers off herself and sliding out of bed.

"Lily and I got here about an hour ago."

"Lily and you?" said Dawn. "But if Lily wasn't here all night what were you—oh. OH. Congratulations!"

Lily blushed and rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Dawn…"

Marica looked at her watch. "Oh, guys, we'd better get down to the Great Hall if we want any breakfast."

"I want breakfast!" said Dawn, leaping up and yanking on her jeans so fast she nearly fell over.

"We're not _that_ short on time!" laughed Marica, slinging her book bag onto her shoulder.

"Why are you taking that?" asked Dawn, eyeing the bulging bag. "And what is _in_ it?"

"Books," said Marica. "What else? It _is_ a book bag."

"But we have no classes anymore!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I believe there was some mention of breakfast…?" said Cassiopeia.

"Yes!" said Dawn. "There most certainly was!"

The four graduating seventh years and the soon-to-be sixth year descended the stairs into the common room where they found Bryan and a very impatient-looking Aaron waiting for them.

"It's about _time_!" said Aaron as soon as he saw them. "I was starting to think you'd decided to give us the slip!"

"Give you the slip? On our last day here?" said Lily. "Never!"

Dawn threw an arm around Aaron's shoulders and Cassiopeia linked arms with Bryan.

"I've been abandoned," Lily observed.

"I'll walk with you," said Marica magnanimously, offering Lily her arm.

"Care to join us, Paloma?" said Lily.

"It would be my pleasure."

_This is the last time I am going to walk through these halls_, though Lily as she made her way through the familiar corridors. _This is the last meal I am going to be eating in the Great Hall_, she thought as she helped herself to sausage and toast. _The last time I am going to be sitting at the Gryffindor table._

After the breakfast dishes had been magically cleared away, the students made their way onto the grounds and toward the "horseless" carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade station.

"It's weird to think that first years are going to be in our room next year," said Marica. "Sleeping in our beds, putting up posters on our walls…"

"Giggling their obnoxious first year giggles," said Dawn, making a face.

"Because you _never_ giggle…" said Marica.

"I didn't say that," said Dawn, "but _my_ giggles are _mature_, _adult_ giggles."

Bryan coughed. Aaron snorted. Cassiopeia let out a giggle of her own. Hugo laughed so hard that Lily had to pound him on the back.

"It's so weird to think that we're adults now," said Lily. "I don't _feel_ like an adult."

"Technically we've been adults for more than a year already," said Trinity.

"Well, yes," said Lily, "but we were still in school, so that hardly counts. We're going to be adults in the real world now."

"Because Hogwarts is totally fake, thanks," said Aaron.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"It is rather strange, isn't it," said Hugo. "I mean, imagine Dawn as an adult!"

Dawn stuck her tongue out at him.

"See?" said Hugo.

"Alright, alright!" said Lily, holding her hands out to keep them from getting into a playful fistfight, which more likely than not would end in a snogging session. "Break it up, break it up! Nowhere in the cousin or best friend contracts does it say that I have to put up with your lovers' quarrels."

Lily, Cassiopeia, Marica, Dawn, Hugo, Trinity, Aaron, and Bryan boarded the train together and found a vacant compartment.

"You have a mission next year," Cassiopeia told the two fourteen-year-olds after they had purchased their treats from the trolley.

"Oh?" said Bryan and Aaron through mouthfuls of cauldron cake.

"Yes," said Cassiopeia. "Your mission is to find some lonely first years, befriend them, and show them how awesome Hogwarts can be."

"Whaddaya say, Bry?" said Aaron. "Do you think we can manage that?"

"Yes," said Bryan, "I think we can manage that."

*****BWST*****

It seemed like one moment they were leaving Hogsmeade Station and the next they were pulling into King's Cross, the scarlet steam engine coming to a stop and the door sliding open on the platform full of parents and other relatives.

"Well, here we are," said Marica, standing up and walking toward the door. The eight of them descended the steps to the platform. They all looked at each other for a moment, realizing that this was the last time they were all be here in their group like this.

Bryan bit his lip. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"Awwww, Bry, we're going to miss you too!" said Dawn, enveloping him in a hug. The others followed suit.

"We'll write to you, we promise," said Lily. "Come on, Bry, don't cry. You'll still have Cassie and Aaron."

"And those new first years Cassie told you to find," said Trinity.

Bryan nodded.

"We should all get together over the summer," said Hugo. "Go somewhere, just the eight of us."

"Nine," said Marica. "We should invite Louis too."

"Of course, of course," said Dawn. "What's a party without Louis?"

"Then it's agreed," said Hugo. "One epic Louis party at an as-of-yet-undetermined location this summer."

"Excuse me," said Aaron, "but I think you mean one epic Louis and _Aaron_ party."

"Of course!" said Hugo. "How could I forget?" He looked up. "Lily, our mums are waving to us."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright." She hugged her friends. "I'll see you all soon, okay?" She turned to Cassiopeia last. "Cassie…" he hugged her fiercely. "Merlin am I going to miss you. We have to see each other a ton over the summer, okay?"

"Definitely," said Cassiopeia, hugging her back. They shared a lingering kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Lily.

"Oi! Lily!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Brothers." She kissed Cassiopeia once more, briefly. "We'll be seeing each other again before we know it, I promise."

"Lily!"

"I'm _coming_, Al! Relax!" Lily made her way over to her brother and the rest of her family. "You are so impatient, Al."

"All you were doing was snogging your girlfriend anyway," said Albus.

"I was _saying_ goodbye."

"Looked like snogging to me."

Lily declined to give this statement an answer.

"So, Lily, how does it feel to be a Hogwarts graduate?" asked her father as they walked toward the barrier.

"Strange," said Lily. "It doesn't seem real."

"It will seem real enough when you have to start applying for jobs," said her mother.

"And you are speaking from what experience?" said Harry. "You got drafted for the Harpies right out of school."

"Says the man who didn't even graduate," said Ginny.

"That was hardly my fault," protested Harry. "I was Undesirable Number One that year!"

"You could have gone back to finish school the next year like Hermione," Ginny pointed out as she started the car.

"Why would I have done that?" said Harry. "I'd already been accepted into the Auror Academy."

Lily and Albus just shook their heads. They had crazy parents.

*****BWST*****

Lily's mother was right, though, she did have to start looking for a job now that she was no longer in school. And in order to begin looking for a job she had to figure out what kind of job she wanted.

She knew what she was interested in, she just wasn't sure what kind of job could incorporate potions and magical creatures other than testing potions on animals, which she certainly didn't want to do.

"How about a magical creature healer?" said Cassiopeia. They were sitting together at their favorite café, drinking coffee and eating cupcakes.

"Hmmm," said Lily. "I hadn't thought of that. I wouldn't even know how to go about finding a job like that. It does sound interesting, though."

"I think it would be perfect for you," said Cassiopeia. "My mother is friends with the wife of the head of a big magical creature hospital. I could see if she could get you an interview."

"Oh, could you?" said Lily.

"I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't," laughed Cassiopeia.

*****BWST*****

"How do I look?"

"Lily, you look beautiful."

"But do I look professional enough?"

"You look very professional."

"Oh no, do I look too professional?"

"_Lily."_ Cassiopeia looked her in the eye. "You look perfect. Your interview is going to _be_ perfect."

Lily smiled. "Sorry, I sound like Rose, don't I?"

"Yes, kind of."

Lily bent and kissed her girlfriend. "Wish me luck?"

"Of course."

Lily straightened her dress robes one last time and prepared to step into the fireplace. This was the first time she had really wished that she had learned to Apparate during her fifth year. That was something that was now definitely on her to-do list. For now, though, she would just have to use the Floo.

"_The Newt Scamander Hospital for Magical Creatures."_

The flames flared and the fireplace spun around her, finally depositing her in a pristine front room occupied by a desk, several sofas and chairs, and a tall, elaborate fireplace.

"Hello," said the middle-aged witch behind the counter. "May I help you?"

"Yes," said Lily, brushing soot from her robes. "My name is Lily Potter. I have an interview at eleven o'clock."

"Oh, yes," said the woman. "If you'll wait just a moment I will inform Mister Farley that you have arrived."

Lily sat down on one of the soft, black couches. Two minutes later the desk witch returned.

"You may go in," she said. "It's the first door on your left."

"Thank you," said Lily.

Lily found the door with little difficulty and knocked.

"Come in," said a voice.

Lily opened the door and entered the room, sitting down in the indicated seat across from a broad shouldered man in his late-fifties sporting thick side-burns and a bushy mustache.

"Good morning," he said. "My name is Mr. Hubert Farley and I am the head of the Newt Scamander Hospital for Magical Creatures. You are Lily Potter?"

"Yes."

"Harry Potter's daughter?"

"Yes."

Mr. Farley wrote something down on the sheet of parchment in front of him. "Looking at your resume I see that you graduated from Hogwarts last year, correct?"

"Yes," said Lily again.

"You received an O on your Care of Magical Creatures NEWT, that is important. You also received an O in your Potions NEWT, and Es on both your Arithmancy and Charms NEWTs. Only an A on your Transfiguration I see, but still, an impressive array." Mr. Farley flipped through the papers. "No previous experience…but good recommendations… What interests you about becoming a potioneer for our hospital."

"Well," said Lily, "potions has always been my number one interest, my passion. I didn't know what I wanted to do with it, but I knew I loved it. I am also very interested in working with animals; I always enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures class in school. So this seemed like a job I would really fit."

Mr. Farley nodded. "I am beginning to get that impression myself. I see that you were referred to by Astoria Malfoy, in what capacity are you acquainted with her?"

"Her daughter is my girlfriend."

Mr. Farley went rigid in his seat. "I see… Well, I am sorry, Miss Potter, but our hospital is very prestigious and I don't see a place for you among our staff. Have a nice day."

Lily was started by the abruptness of the dismissal, but had no other choice than to pick up her bag and leave the office. She avoided the desk witch's eye as she crossed the reception area and stepped into the fireplace, willing her voice not to shake as she said, _"Number twelve Grimmauld Place."_

"Lily?" said her mother, coming into the living room as Lily stepped out of the fireplace. "I didn't expect you home so soon. How did it go?"

"I didn't get the job," said Lily.

"Now, you can't know that for sure until—"

"Yes I can," said Lily. "They told me. I didn't get the job."

"Did they tell you why?" asked Ginny, walking over to put her arms around her daughter.

"Not in so many words," said Lily, gritting her teeth to keep from either shouting or crying, she wasn't sure which. "But he practically kicked me out when he found out I was a lesbian!"

"Oh sweetheart."

"I know m-maybe I shouldn't have said that in my i-interview, but it c-came up, and it _shouldn't matter_!"

"I'm sorry, honey."

"I just really wanted to work there… I'm going to my room to send an owl to Cassie."

*****BWST*****

Lily did send a letter to Cassiopeia. She also sent one to James and one to Louis. James's answer came back almost immediately.

_Lily,_

_You don't want to work for those wankers anyway, not if they're going to treat you like that. It's their loss. Do you want me to go down there and beat some ass?_

_-James_

This made Lily smiled.

_Thanks James,_

_And please don't. You're awful at dueling._

_-Lily_

James had sent another reply before either of the others had even responded to the first letter.

_Who said anything about dueling?_

Lily rolled her eyes. There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said without looking up.

Light footsteps padded across the room and then arms encircled Lily from behind. "I love you."

Lily smiled and turned around to face her girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need a kiss or two."

"Or three or four?"

"I think I can manage that."

It was late that night and the two girls were lying loosely in each other's arms when Lily said, "Cassie, what do you think of the idea of my opening my own practice?"

"I think it's an excellent idea," said Cassiopeia.

"Do you think it would work?"

"I think it definitely could. You'll never know if you don't try."

"Thanks Cassie. I think…I think I will."

*****BWST*****

_You are invited:_

_To Louis and Aaron's End of the Summer Extravaganza!_

_Where: Louis's flat at number fourteen Winger Way, Dundee, Scotland_

_When: August 29th and 30th_

_Attire: Semi-formal_

_BE THERE!_

_Love,_

_Louis and Aaron_

Lily grinned and set the invitation down. Oh she would be there alright. In fact, Louis was helping her move into her own new space in Dundee the week before the party, where she was planning on opening her magical creature healing center at the end of September, so she would already be in the area. Now she just needed to decide what to wear…

*****BWST*****

"Très magnifique! Lily, if you weren't my cousin…"

Lily laughed as Marica smacked Louis across the arm. She was wearing a pair of black silk slacks studded with rhinestones up the sides and embroidered with rainbow thread around the cuffs of the legs. Her top, which was a deep purple, was cut diagonally so that the right side of her midriff was showing, and the sleeves hung loosely from her shoulders to her elbows. The studs in her ears and nose were of a matching shade, and her hair was slicked to one side with the ends spiked.

The party was a roaring success. Though far smaller than any Louis had thrown before, the intimate get-together couldn't have been better. Aaron, clad in red skinny-jeans and a black-sequined vest over a white button-up, gave such a rousing start to the karaoke that even Cassiopeia, dressed in a pale pink knee-length dress which cinched at the waist with a silver and gold belt, and Bryan, in cocoa brown slacks and a gray button-up, took the mic. Everyone had a blast, and the next morning everyone helped their host and his assistant clean up the mess they had made.

"Louis," said Lily as the eight of them stood outside on the street below the flat, saying their goodbyes, "that may have been your best party ever."

Louis grinned. "While I appreciate your well-deserved praise of my plentiful talents, I could never have done it without Aaron."

The younger boy beamed and took a bow.

"This is not the end, you know," said Cassiopeia, looking around at her group of friends.

"Of course not," said Trinity.

"Far from it," agreed Marica.

"I expect full accounts from all of you about everything interesting that goes on in your lives," said Dawn.

"And I promise to go to at least one of your Quidditch games a year, Dawn, and one of yours too, Hugo, even though I care nothing about the sport," said Lily.

"And I promise to take my owl to you if he ever gets sick," said Hugo.

"And I'll go to Louis and Aaron if I ever need a party planned," said Trinity.

"And I'll check the _Daily Prophet_ every day for Marica's inevitable world-shattering breakthrough," said Bryan.

The alarm on Trinity's watch went off. "Sorry guys, I've got to get to work. I'm working the evening shift tonight."

"I'd better get going too," said Marica. "I have to have my proposition in to my boss by Tuesday."

"And my flat is still a mess of half-unpacked boxes," said Lily.

They all hugged one another one last time and started off toward their various destinations.

Lily looked sideways at her girlfriend. "It's been a good five years, hasn't it?"

"Yes," said Cassiopiea. "It has. And the next five will be even better."

"Undoubtedly," said Lily. "And the five after that, and the five after that, and the five after that…"

**AN: And that would be it. It is over. Wow. Sometimes it seemed like it would never end, but it finally has. I hope you have enjoyed the journey.**

**A while back it was suggested to me that I write a sequel focusing on Byran and Aaron. I DO NOT KNOW if this will happen, but I am considering it. If it did happen, it would focus on Lorcan and Lysander Scamander as well. This is a possibility, but don't hold your breath for it.**

**Thank you for reading! Your final reviews would be _much_ appreciated.**

**-SQ**


	52. Announcement

This is an announcement, hence the title.

A pre-sequel announcement.

Yes, there _will_ be a sequel.

Centering around Aaron and Bryan, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, and an new OC that did not appear in BWST.

The main cast of BWST will be hanging about in the background. And Cassie will still be at Hogwarts with our new main characters for the first two years, so she will feature more than the other main BWST characters.

The story doesn't have a name or anything but the most basic of plot ideas yet. I don't know when I'm going to start it. But it will happen, and it will be the next new fic I start as soon as I have time to start a new fic.

I will post a sequel notice when I post the first chapter of the sequel.

That is all.

-SQ


End file.
